TVC:Book 04:The True Spirit of Christmas
by VoyagersFan
Summary: After saving a famous 19th century author, Jeff confronts his demons for the last time and Bogg makes the ultimate sacrifice for his young partner. Sequel to The Crime of All Time. Revised 06/2009.
1. Forward

_**VOYAGERS!**_

**The Voyager Chronicles – Book 4 **

**THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS**

**By Dennis A. Daugherty**

DISCLAIMER: Voyagers!, and it's associated characters are registered trademarks of Scholastic Productions, James D. Parriott Productions and Universal-MCA Entertainment. This story is written and provided for entertainment purposes ONLY. No copyright infringement is intended by the author.

**FORWARD**

Yes, my dear there is a Santa Claus! A piece of him lives inside each and every one of us.

The excitement and joy of the upcoming holiday season inspired me to write this rather short but poignant story dealing with Bogg and Jeff's current relationship and the true meaning of Christmas. As I grow older, and see the world we live in continuously changing, I have come to realize that the meaning of this holiday has also changed over the years. No longer is it solely about the celebration of the birth of God's son, but rather the giving of material things and the celebration of wealth.

Christmas is more than that in my opinion. It's not just about what we anticipate finding underneath our trees on December 25th. The true meaning can be summed up like this. It's a time to allow the light of our inner selves to shine brightly. To give of one's self, lovingly and unselfishly to our friends, neighbors, relatives and family and to remember the sacrifices they have made to bring us to this point in our lives. Also, to remember and help those who are less fortunate than ourselves, who may not have even the simplest necessities for living. Last, but not least, to remember that one important person, born on this Earth some two thousand plus years ago and the love he had for all of us.

I really do hope you enjoy this story and maybe it will in turn brighten the inner light of love inside you. May you never, ever forget the true meaning of this holiday.

DA Daugherty

(VoyagersFan)


	2. A Dickens of a Mystery

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 1 – A DICKENS OF A MYSTERY!**

It was early evening in the Big Apple. The sun, after completing is duties for the day had buried itself deeply into a billowy bed of clouds for its well-deserved 12 hours of rest. Gazing up into the sky, the only stars that could be seen were the artificial ones which encircled the marquees and signs high atop the buildings. There were people everywhere. The sidewalks were crowded as many, dressed in their finest attire, began emerging from the shadows to make their way out and about to enjoy the nightlife of the city.

In an alley, just outside a well known restaurant, Bogg and Jeff came to a landing on a pile of cardboard boxes.

"Ok, Bogg. I thought our landings would be a little bit softer since you got this new omni. What gives here?" Jeff said as he wiggled his backside out of a narrow box.

"I don't know, kid. Maybe there's a malfunction. You know, a broken spring or something. I too was expecting our first landing to be somewhat more dignified."

"Where are we?" Jeff asked as he surveyed the area.

Bogg retrieved his shiny new omni, polished it on his vest and opened it. Its bright red, flashing strobe began to illuminate his face like the flickering flames of a campfire. He gazed at it for a moment and said nothing.

"Well! Where are we?" Jeff repeated, rather impatiently.

"Uh…it's a surprise." Bogg replied as he pointed to his young companion. "For you!"

"Oh no! I thought this place looked rather familiar. You've brought us back to New York City. C'mon, haven't you had enough hot dogs for one year." Jeff chided.

"Funny kid, so when did YOU become a comedian? You know it's just three more days 'til Christmas. I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out what to get you. Then, it came to me. We both need a little r and r, especially after that last assignment. I thought we could come back here to your old stompin' ground, have a nice dinner and see a show or something."

"Christmas? Who needs it!" Jeff said dejectedly, throwing his hands in the air as he walked off. "Christmas hasn't been the same since my parents died. So why even bother?"

"Jeffrey!" Bogg shouted as he ran over and turned his partner to face him. "I can't believe you said that. You mean for the past two years, I have had a 'scrooge' for a partner. "

Jeff bowed his head. "Yep, you said it. Bah humbug and all!"

Bogg kneeled down in front of his partner and lifted his chin with one finger.

"Hey. I know you've been though a lot since your parents died. But, it's time you go on with your life. Your mom and dad would be very proud of you and they wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

"I know Bogg, but as I have said before, it still hurts." Jeff whined as a tear ran down his cheek. "And what's the use. Christmas is one of those times when it hurts the most. It brings back all those memories of the times when…"

Bogg reached over and put his arms around his partner and rubbed his back, consolingly. "I know Jeff…I know. But as I said, it's time to move on with your life. It's time to make some new memories. You cannot grieve for your parents forever. You know they wouldn't want that for you."

Jeff leaned back and wiped the tears from his eyes as he looked up at Bogg.

"Besides, you have a new family." Bogg whispered softly as he stood up, held out his arms and pointed his thumbs toward him.

"Remember me? I'm the big, overbearing, pain in your backside." He said as he put on a big cheesy smile and chuckled.

Jeff attempted a smile for a moment, then replied. "Yea, I guess."

"What! You guess! Now wait a minute, kid. I thought you and I were inseparable. Are you now telling me otherwise?" Bogg asked, somewhat concerned.

"Well, no Bogg, but…I"

"But what? We're either close or we're not. I'm either your partner, your friend, your guardian, or am I not. Jeff, be honest. I want to know. Now out with it! I want the truth!"

In an attempt to do something nice for his young partner, Bogg had unknowingly opened an old, partially healed wound. With this one innocent act of kindness by his partner, the young Voyager was now overwrought with emotion. Feelings of confusion, great loss, loneliness and fear were again coming to the surface.

"Bogg, I love you, but I love my parents also. It's hard…it's hard for me to replace them. Don't you understand!" He yelled as he began to sob.

Bogg turned away from his partner, put his hands on his hips and looked up to the sky in an attempt to disguise his emotions. The mere fact that his partner could not give him a straight answer to his question had upset him greatly.

Jeff looked at his partner, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He knew he had once again hurt Bogg with his words.

"Bogg, please don't turn your back on me… Please Bogg." Jeff pleaded.

Bogg continued to stare into the heavens, visibly upset. As a pirate, he had been forced to suppress his emotions and to stand strong in the face of danger. But nothing had prepared him for the gamut of feelings he had experienced since Jeff entered his life. Jeff's non-committal response to his question had now left him in a state of great distress. As a result, feelings of sadness and confusion were now mixed with those of uncertainty, especially with regard to their future. He thought they had put this issue to rest many months ago. They had become ever so close, but was it all an act? Bogg stood there for a time, again attempting to regain his composure when Jeff broke the silence.

"Bogg, please, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Please forgive me Bogg. Please!" Jeff pleaded as he grabbed his partner by the arm.

Bogg bit his lip, turned back to his partner and again kneeled down in front of him.

"Jeff. I'm sorry too. All I ever wanted to do was to make you happy. You know I would do anything for you, even give my life for you if the need arose. I just don't want you to feel like you are obligated to stay with me. You have to want this relationship. I can't force it upon you."

"I want to be with you Bogg! I do, really, honest! There's no one else I would rather have as a friend." Jeff exclaimed.

Bogg stood up. Jeff's words helped to somewhat heal his broken heart, but there were still doubts left in his mind. He decided to put this controversy aside for a time and continue with his plans.

"Ok. Enough of this, kid, let's go eat. After that, I have tickets for us to see the performance of one of my most favorite of all novels."

"What's that?" Jeff asked.

"Just you wait. It's a surprise."

The two Voyagers left the alley and quickly made their way inside a nearby restaurant. After eating a formidable meal, they started on their journey to the theatre.

"Where are we going… Bogg?" Jeff asked.

"You know, to the theatre. I told you I had tickets for the two of us."

"Oh yeah! Now can you tell me what we are going to see."

Bogg stopped for a moment. "Ok, since the suspense is obviously killing you, I'll tell you. We have tickets to see a performance of 'A Christmas Carol' at this little theatre. As a matter of fact, there it is now." He said as he pointing toward the marquee.

"Why do we have to see that old play? Can't we just go see a movie or something?" Jeff quipped.

Again disappointed by his partner's words, Bogg lowered his head.

"Bogg, what's wrong?" Jeff asked.

"Nothing… Just nothing, kid." Bogg replied in a sad tone as he looked off in the distance.

Jeff jumped in front of his partner. "Bogg…please look at me. What's wrong?"

"Kid, I…I… just wanted us to have a good time. I thought you would enjoy it. I…I…guess I was wrong." He said as he turned away.

"Bogg, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, really. It's just…it's just…

"It's just what?" Bogg quipped.

"It's just I don't like that play any longer." Jeff replied as he lowered his head.

"Why? Jeff. Tell me why?" His partner asked sternly.

"I'm so sorry, Bogg. You planned all this for me and I have ruined it for you. Why don't you just leave me at the nearest orphanage and get it over with." Jeff said sullenly.

Bogg's jaw dropped. He could not believe what had come from his partner's mouth. 'Jeffrey, wanting to go to an orphanage?'" He thought. "Something's not right here."

"Hey…Hey…kid!" Bogg said as he kneeled again beside his partner. "Look at me kid! You listen and listen good! I don't know what's eating at you, but listen to me and burn what I'm about to say permanently into that little brain of yours. "I will NEVER leave you at an orphanage. NEVER, EVER! I would sooner let someone cut out my heart than allow that to happen."

Jeff's eyes grew wide after seeing the emotion in his partner's eyes.

"Kid, you still haven't answered my question. Why do you not like this play?" He whispered in a soft tone.

"It's just, that was the last play mom and dad ever took me to. To this day, I can still remember all the fun we had that particular Christmas. Now it's over. Christmas will never be the same again. You don't understand Bogg…You've never lost your parents." Jeff exclaimed.

Jeff's words had once more pierced the heart of his partner. Once again battling an onslaught of emotion, Bogg almost lashed out at his partner. He held back the flood, took a deep breath and began to speak in a calm even tone.

"Jeff, that's where you are wrong." He said firmly. "I do understand your loss, only from a different perspective."

"What do you mean?"

"Kid, you lost your parents, because they died in a freak and tragic accident. I too lost my parents."

"You did? How?"

"I lost my parents, because I was taken away from them. You remember the story I told you about how I became a Voyager?"

"Yea, but what does that have to do with this?"

"If you remember, I was hit in the head and washed overboard. That was the last time my parents saw me and the last time I ever saw them. It's as if they are dead. It's much like your situation."

"I'm sorry, Bogg. I never realized."

"Jeff, for months after that incident, I grieved for them each and every day that passed. I longed to see my mom and dad again. But as much as I knew I had the capability to go back and see them again. I knew in my heart, I couldn't. After a time, I came to the conclusion I had to go on with my life. And believe it or not, I did."

"Come here." Bogg said lovingly as he again hugged his partner. "Please believe me, I do understand your loss, but as I said, you can't just stop living because you lost your parents. Here, wipe your eyes and come on with me. Allow me to help you make some new memories. "

"Ok, Bogg." Jeff said as he tried to force a smile through his sadness. "I guess if we don't get going, we'll miss the opening."

Bogg stood up, put his arm around his partner and smiled a bit. "Ok, my little scrooge, c'mon."

The two walked a bit further down the street until they came upon the little theatre Bogg had spoken of. As they approached the entrance, Jeff noticed something very peculiar on the marquee.

"Bogg?"

"Yea kid?"

"I thought you said we were coming here to see 'A Christmas Carol'?"

"We are. They are performing it here tonight." Bogg assured.

"Well, you might want to go inside and tell them that, because that's not what's on the marquee. Look!" Jeff said as he pointed to the marquee.

Bogg, at Jeff's prodding looked up at the marquee. Surprisingly, it read, "Playing tonite The Pirates of Penzance."

"Bats-Breath! What's going on here? That's a good play, but that's not what I came here to see. Something's not right. You stay here kid, I'll be right back."

Bogg ran up the stairs and went inside the building. In the distance, he saw a gentleman standing outside in the lobby, taking tickets. With all haste, he ran over to him.

"Excuse me sir."

"Yes sir. How may I help you sir?" The gentleman asked.

"I thought tonight's play was to be 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens." Bogg stated curiously.

"Who?" The gentleman asked, sporting a puzzled look.

"Charles Dickens!" Bogg exclaimed. "You know…the author of 'A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, etcetera."

"Never heard of him." The gentleman replied.

"Uh…ok…uh… my mistake…thank you…" Bogg said as he turned and walked toward the exit.

By this time Jeff had become concerned for his partner and had entered the building. Standing just inside the door, he noticed Bogg approaching him from the distance.

"Bogg? What is it Bogg? "Jeff asked.

"Something's definitely not right here. I spoke to that gentleman over there and he says he's never heard of Charles Dickens."

"That's odd! I thought everyone had heard of Charles Dickens." Jeff stated. "He's one of the most famous writers of the 19th century."

"Any ideas as to what has happened here?" Bogg asked.

"Not really…" Jeff replied.

"I believe some investigation is in order." Bogg said wryly. "You know, maybe we can ask some of the patrons if they have ever heard of Dickens. Surely someone can shed some light on what's wrong here."

"Yea…Good Luck with this one!" Jeff said sarcastically.

"Hey, where's that Christmas spirit?"

"I told you Bogg, bah humbug."

The two went back out onto the street and as patrons began to arrive, Bogg began to ask each of them if they had heard of the famous author.

"Excuse me ma'am. Have you ever heard of an author by the name of Charles Dickens?"

"I'm sorry, but no." The patron answered as she hurriedly made her way past the pirate.

Bogg walked over to another patron and yet again posed the question.

"Excuse me sir. Can I ask you a question?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't have any money on me." The patron quipped as he quickly darted past him.

"Well, Bogg, that's zero for two. One more and your outta here." Jeff teased.

"Smart kids give me a big pain in my tuba." Bogg muttered as he clenched his teeth.

"Excuse me sir. Could I ask you a question?"

An older, grey haired gentleman in a tweed suit stopped and replied. "Why sure, sir. How may I be of assistance?"

"Sir, have you ever heard of an author by the name of Charles Dickens? You know, he wrote Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol." Bogg asked.

"Hmmm, now that you mention it, I do remember him. I've never heard of that last title you mentioned. He was an up and coming 19th century author." The patron explained.

"If you don't mind, sir, one more question."

"Why sure my dear fellow. Being a professor, I love people who ask questions."

"What actually happened to him, sir?"

"The official record states that he died on June 7, 1842 as he was returning to England from a trip here to the States. It was some sort of accident on board the ship. No one really knows exactly what happened." The patron replied.

"Thank you for your help, sir." Bogg said as he bowed to the patron.

"You are quite welcome." The patron responded before making his way into the theatre.

"That's it!" Jeff exclaimed. "That's it Bogg! He wasn't supposed to die. He wrote 'A Christmas Carol' after he got back from his trip to the United States. We have to go back and fix this."

Bogg retrieved the omni from his belt, opened it and looked over at Jeff. "Ok, kid where to?"

"Let's see now… He was on the merchant ship George Washington in the Atlantic Ocean, the date was June 7, 1842.

Bogg set the omni, grabbed Jeff's arm and pushed the button.


	3. The Rescue

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 2 – THE RESCUE**

It was early summer in the year 1842. A warm breeze was just tickling the tops of the waves of the Atlantic. The seas were calm and the skies were clear. It was a beautiful day for sailing across the sea. After a long and grueling tour of the US and Canada, Charles Dickens and his wife were currently in their quarters aboard the George Washington, a rather large merchant ship enroute from the United States to their home in England. Now only several hours into the voyage, in the midst of calm seas, the tables were about to turn.

"Charles, where are you going?" Mrs. Dickens asked her husband.

"I think I'll go up on the deck and get a breath of fresh air." He replied. "Would you care to join me?"

"No, but thank you for asking. I believe I'll stay here and continue with my reading." She stated. "But you go ahead. A bit of fresh air will do you good."

"Well, dear, suit yourself. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"Dickens kissed his wife on the cheek and quickly walked out of their room and down the hallway. He climbed the stairs to the deck of the ship and leisurely strolled over to the edge. Upon reaching the railing, he closed his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath.

"Ummm…fresh clean air…" He said to himself.

In the distance, the two Voyagers fell through the time portal and came to an abrupt landing on their feet, on the opposite end of the ship.

"Hey Bogg! Looks like the new omni is working again. That wasn't such a bad landing after all." Jeff exclaimed.

"You said it. I hope it's not a freak occurrence."

Bogg opened the omni and noticed its red light flashing.

"We made it, kid and there's a red light to boot." He said before closing the lid and clipping the omni to his belt. "Let's take a look around and see if we can find Dickens."

The two began to stroll around the deck of the ship. Almost immediately, they came upon Dickens standing near the railing on the starboard side of the ship.

"Excuse us sir." Bogg asked politely.

Dickens turned to face the pirate and his companion.

"Yes, how may I help you gentlemen?" He asked.

"We're looking for the great author, Charles Dickens." Jeff stated keenly.

Dickens nodded and smiled a bit. "Well, I wouldn't call him a great author, just yet." He replied somewhat humorously.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Bogg asked.

"Why yes my dear sir, I do know. As a matter of fact, he's standing right in front of you."

The two looked at each other as if they had just seen the devil himself.

"You're Charles Dickens?" Jeff asked in amazement.

"Yes my young lad, I'm Dickens."

"Mr. Dickens, my name is Phineas Bogg. This is my partner Jeffrey Jones. We're so glad to meet you sir." He said as he shook Dickens' hand.

"Sir, we are big fans of your writing." Jeff said eagerly.

"You young lad, have read my novels?" Dickens asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Yes sir and they are terrific." Jeff replied. "When can we expect your next one to be published?"

"Soon, very, very soon." He replied and then pointed to his head. "It's all up here, just waiting to be put to paper."

Dickens turned his attention back to the beautiful waters of the Atlantic.

"Isn't this beautiful? Nothing could be more magnificent than this view and the fresh clean air. And the calmness of the sea…it's so restful and serene."

The calmness of the waters was just a rouse. Suddenly, the ship was caught in the grips of a large, swift undercurrent. The ship pitched violently to one side and then the other. Caught off-guard, Dickens slipped over the railing and fell into the waters of the ocean.

"Help! HELP!" He yelled as he thrashed about, attempting to keep himself afloat.

"Bogg, we've got to do something!" Jeff yelled. "He's gonna drown!"

Bogg scanned the area, looking for a life preserver or something he could use to save the author from his fate.

"Kid, grab that coil of rope over there." Bogg commanded.

Jeff ran and grabbed the rope and brought it to his partner.

"Here, take this end and tie it to that wooden beam." Bogg urged.

"What are you going to do Bogg?" Jeff asked his partner. "You can't throw this rope to him, he's too far away."

"Kid, time's a wastin'…just tie that rope tight and get back over here." Bogg quipped.

Jeff ran over and tied the rope to a nearby wooden beam. Once it was secure, he ran back over to his partner.

"Help! HELP ME PLEASE!!" Dickens pleaded as he floated further and further away from the ship.

"What now?" Jeff asked.

Bogg unclipped the shiny new omni from his belt and handed it to his partner.

"Here hold this and stay here. I'm going in."

"But Bogg…" Jeff said.

"No buts… Stay here and yell for help." Bogg ordered. "I'll tie this rope around my waist. If I run into trouble, you can find some help and pull me back aboard."

Before Jeff could say anything further, Bogg leaped over the railing and slipped effortlessly into the ocean. Upon surfacing and getting his bearings, he saw the author some fifty feet away from him.

"I sure hope we have enough rope." Bogg said to himself as he swam out to rescue Dickens.

Minutes passed. Bogg continued to struggle against the swift undercurrents to reach his victim. After expending a great amount of effort, he finally reached the author and grabbed hold of him just before he went under.

"Sir, do you have enough strength to climb onto my back?" Bogg asked as he spit some water out of his mouth.

"Yes…yes… I think I can accomplish that." Dickens said as he coughed and gasped for air. In a weakened state, the author struggled as he attempted to climb atop his rescuer.

"Sir, hold on tight and don't let go. I can use this rope to pull us to safety." Bogg yelled to the author.

"Don't worry, my dear young man. The thought of letting go is the farthest thing from my mind at this moment." Dickens' responded as he hung on for dear life.

By this time a group of passengers and crew heard Jeff's calls for help and had arrived on deck. They stood by the railing and were watching as the events unfolded. Dickens' wife, fearing for his safety, could not bear to see the love of her life in such peril. She stood there, supported by a fellow passenger, her hands covering her eyes.

"Are you ok, sir?" Bogg asked.

"Yes, I'm ok. How much further?" Dickens asked.

"Not much further now." Bogg reassured.

Bogg continued to use the rope to pull him and his victim back to safety. After several minutes, the two finally reached the hull of the ship. One of the crew quickly ran over to the edge and threw down a rope ladder for them to use the climb back aboard.

Dickens grabbed the latter and with all his remaining strength slowly pulled himself up the ladder until he reached the deck. Two crewmembers reached over and pulled him to safety.

Jeff stood there silent, anticipating his partner's eventual climb up the ladder. After a time, with his partner no-where in sight, he ran over to the rail and starting yelling for him.

"Bogg! Where are you, Bogg?"

During this tense moment, Bogg had used the rope to scale the hull of the ship. Unnoticed, he threw his leg over the railing and climbed back aboard. While Jeff was still frantically yelling over the rail for his partner, Bogg, looking like a drowned rat, walked up behind him and pecked him on the shoulder.

"Looking for me?" Bogg asked with a cheesy smile.

Jeff almost jumped out of his skin as he quickly turned and saw his partner standing behind him. Glad and relieved to see him unhurt, he threw his arms around him.

"Bogg! You're ok! I thought something bad had happened to you."

"Nope, everything's fine. " Bogg reassured as he put a finger in one ear and wiggled it slightly. "Well it will be once I get all this water out of my ears."

"Here, you can have this back." Jeff said as he handed the omni back to his partner.

Bogg turned away from the crowd for a moment and opened the lid. His partner ran around in front of him to get a look at the device.

"Bogg? The omni. Do we have a green light?" He asked.

Bogg looked at the omni just as the green light came on. "Yeah, kid, it's green." He then put his arm around Jeff as they strolled across the deck.

"Looks like Dickens will get to write that next book after all." Bogg stated. "Everything's back to normal, so why don't we get outta here? You know, Christmas is only three days away and we've got other more pressing issues we need to attend to."

"What other issues, Bogg?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Oh, we have to get ready for the arrival of the jolly ol' guy in the red suit." Bogg said as he smiled and winked at Jeff. "By the way, what do you want ol' Saint Nick to bring you for Christmas?"

Jeff looked at his partner with a rather perplexed expression on his face.

"C'mon Bogg! Santa Claus? You've got to be kidding. There's no such thing as Santa. That's for little kids!"

"What?" Bogg exclaimed with a playful look of shock on his face. "You don't believe? In my lifetime, I've known many who didn't believe in the Jolly ol' man. And on Christmas morning, they had rocks and coal in their stockings to prove it."

"That's just a myth, a story made up to scare little kids so they'll behave. You don't really believe there is a Santa Claus?" Jeff asked his partner.

"Believe it? Why yes! I do! I assure you, it's not a myth." Bogg said.

"Now I know you're delirious." Jeff said sarcastically. "All that salt water in your ears has obviously affected your brain."

"Ok…OK! That's another one I owe you for." Bogg threatened. He rubbed his chin and stood there silent for a moment pondering Jeff's situation.

"Hmmm….you know…in light of your recent comments, I think I'll make a change to our plans." Bogg said rather deviously. "We won't be going to see the play. I've got a better idea. I have a friend that lives up North whom I haven't seen in quite a while. He's just the person to help you get over your Christmas crisis and Santa phobia."

"Bogg! What are you talking about?" He exclaimed. "Santa phobia? I'm not scared of him, I just don't believe in him."

"Same thing…kid. There's a reason behind it and like I said, I know someone who can fix that. C'mon, time's a wastin'"

Bogg set the controls of the omni, grabbed Jeff by the scruff of the neck and they vanished.


	4. The Christmas Guests

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 3 – THE CHRISTMAS GUESTS**

With Christmas just two days away, Bogg and Jeff arrived outside the home of Bogg's old friend, Chris Kringle. Kringle, a former Voyager he had known for many years had retired from field service work and he along with his wife had built their dream home in a far northern part of the province of British Columbia. It had been years since Bogg had seen his old friend and Jeff's apparent problems were just the reason to go for a visit. He knew Chris and his wife Martha loved to entertain and especially so during the Christmas holiday and as always they would be welcomed with open arms.

It had been snowing literally for days in the Province. So much so, in fact, one could scarcely see the Kringle's home. The air was brisk and heavy as the flakes of white powder fell with fervor from the clouds above. Snow was everywhere, covering everything in sight. The scene, reminiscent of those depicted on many holiday greeting cards was serene and beautiful. For Bogg and Jeff, it was a blessing. As they ended their trip through the time vortex, the two fell through the portal and onto a huge snow drift several hundred feet away from the main road.

"Bogg?" Jeff called out as he slowly stood up, completely covered in snow from head to toe. From a distance, he could have been briefly mistaken for a snowman without his hat.

"Now I know how Frosty felt." Jeff mumbled as he brushed the snow off him.

Bogg, completely engulfed in a snowdrift behind his partner, leapt quickly to his feet in a sort of jack-in-the-box move. He too was covered head to toe in a white, powdery coating.

"Ok, who's Frosty?" Bogg quipped as bits of snow fell from his eyelashes.

"Ahhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyy!" Jeff screamed as he held his chest and gasped for air. "Bogg! Why did you have to scare me like that? I almost had an accident."

"What kind of accident, kid? And who's this Frosty?" Bogg asked innocently.

"Never mind!" Jeff quipped.

"Chris' home is just up ahead. Come on kid, let's get going." Bogg urged. "Otherwise, we could be stuck here until the spring thaw."

The two pushed their way through the heavy snowdrifts, finally reaching the road leading to the Kringle's home. After walking a short distance, they came upon the entrance to the Kringle's driveway and paused momentarily to rest. While Bogg was pre-occupied with knocking the heavy snow build-up from his boots, his partner had noticed a mailbox just a few feet in front of him. Overtaken by his curiosity, he walked over to it and brushed the snow aside, revealing the name 'Kringle'. He gasped and then yelled out to his partner.

"Hey Bogg! So what gives here?" Jeff asked in disbelief. "Your friend's name is Kringle?

"Yep…good ole Chris." Bogg replied as he walked over and stood next to him. "There wasn't a problem he couldn't solve."

"You've got to be kidding, right?" Jeff said as he nodded his head.

"Nope, I assure you. That's his name, Chris Kringle." Bogg confirmed.

"And I guess he wears a red suit, has a long white beard and drives a sleigh pulled by twelve tiny reindeer?" Jeff asked with a note of sarcasm in his voice.

"I hate to disappoint you, kid. If you must know, he wears Levis and outing shirts, has a long grey beard and drives a 4-wheel drive pickup. The closest he's ever gotten to a sleigh is riding his old International Harvester tractor. He knows nothing at all about animals, especially tiny reindeer. " Bogg said matter-of-factly. "It's cold out here. C'mon, let's get inside. We can talk about this later."

The two, erring on the side of caution, made their way up the driveway and finally arrived at the front entrance. Bogg knocked on the door and after a short time, Martha, Chris' lovely wife came to the door.

"Yes, may I help…you…wait, wait a minute…Phineas?…Phineas Bogg is that you?" Martha asked, shocked to see her old friend.

"Well, underneath all this snow, yes, it's me, Phineas."

Martha turned and yelled back to her husband. "Chris, you won't believe who has shown up on our doorstep!"

Chris yelled back to her from the sofa. "Who is it my dear? Is it that pesky Avon lady again? If it is, tell her I have plenty of lipstick left from my previous order."

Martha laughed. "No hon, it's not the Avon lady. It's Phineas, he's come to visit."

Bogg looked at Martha with a curious expression. "Chris is wearing lipstick?" He asked innocently.

"Phineas, don't worry. He wouldn't be caught dead in lipstick. It's a little inside joke." She explained.

Chris, who was currently sitting in front of a warm fire reading the newspaper, dropped his paper to the floor and took off running to the front door.

"Bogg! You old scoundrel you! Where have you been?" Chris yelled as he threw his arms around his long time friend. "You two get inside and warm yourselves by the fire."

Bogg and Jeff made their way inside and stood in front of the fireplace.

As Chris again took up residence on the sofa, Martha, being the thoughtful hostess, ran to the linen closet and fetched the two cold, wet Voyagers a couple of fluffy, dry towels.

"Here you two, take these and dry yourselves off." She urged. "Why don't you take off your shoes and sit them by the fire to dry. While you do that, I'll go get you some dry socks so your feet won't get cold."

"Thank you Martha." Bogg replied. "We do appreciate it."

"It's no problem, no problem at all." She said as she again left the room.

"So Phin, who is this young man standing beside you?" Chris asked curiously. "Is this your son?"

"No, this is my new partner. Well, I say he's my new partner, but he's been hanging around for about a couple of years now. Let me introduce you." Bogg said as he winked at Jeff. "Chris, this is Jeffrey Jones. Jeff, this is Chris Kringle, a long-time fellow Voyager and a very good friend of mine."

Jeff walked over and shook Chris's hand. "Nice to meet you sir."

"Likewise son."

"Phin, VHQ sure is starting them out early now, aren't they?" Chris asked.

"Not really. Jeff here is a special case." Bogg said.

"You'll have to tell me about it. But for now, I'm just glad the two of you are here. I hope you will be able to spend some time with us over the holidays?"

Bogg grinned. "If that's an invitation, then we accept! We'd love to celebrate Christmas with the two of you. Right Jeff?"

"Yea Bogg, right." Jeff replied, in a somewhat unconvincing manner.

In an instant, Martha returned with some dry socks, which she handed to the two of them.

"Here you go. Put these on." She urged. "There's nothing worse than guests with cold toes."

"Martha, why don't you take young Jeffrey here into the kitchen and stuff him with your famous oatmeal cookies?" Chris suggested. "I'm sure he would just love that. In the meantime, Bogg and I will talk over old times and get caught up."

"Sure honey." She said warmly. "Jeffrey, if you will come with me, I will get you some milk and cookies or anything else your little heart desires."

"Hey, thanks! Cookies will be fine." Jeff said as he followed Martha into the kitchen.

"So Bogg, come and sit down and tell me what's been happening in your life lately." Chris said pointedly. "I can't believe you now have a partner and a young one at that. I never pictured you with a partner. You were always a loner when it came to being a Voyager."

"Chris, that's what I'm here about. I have a problem and I really need your help." Bogg said with a serious expression.

"Sure…You know that anytime you need help, I'm there for you. So, what's it all about?"

"It's Jeffrey and it's a long story." Bogg said as he nodded and lowered his head.

"Well, the kid's in the kitchen and I assure you, Martha will keep him occupied for quite a time. So, start at the beginning and tell me everything."

Bogg, somewhat downtrodden, strolled over and sat down in an overstuffed chair next to his friend. He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before sitting back in his chair and beginning his story.

"Chris, it all started a couple of years ago. I was on a mission to 1492 to help Columbus with his discovery of the new world, when my omni malfunctioned."

"Malfunctioned?" Chris asked curiously. "That's odd. Omnis normally don't malfunction. They have built in error correction."

"I know, Chris, but mine did. And boy did it ever malfunction. My omni only had circuits to go to the year 1970 and it ended up taking me to the year 1982."

"Wow, that thing really had a major hiccup." Chris agreed.

"Suddenly, I found myself teetering on ledge of a window of a high-rise apartment building. Hanging on for dear life, I managed to use my guidebook to break through the window and climb to safety inside."

Chris sat quietly, his eyes affixed on his friend, totally engrossed in his story.

"It was at that point, my life as I knew it changed."

"How so?" Chris asked.

"Once I had climbed through the window, I was met by this boy and his dog. They were standing right in front of me and the mangy mutt was barking and ready to attack me at any moment."

"I take it this boy was Jeffrey?" Chris asked.

"Right the first time." Bogg teased.

"He must have been quite frightened at the sight of some strange pirate climbing through his window."

"Oh, he was scared alright." Bogg agreed. "Yep, his eyes were big as saucers. Of course, I didn't help matters any by barking out 'Hey, when did they start building them this high? Who are you and where's Columbus, kid?'"

Chris chuckled a bit. "I'm surprised he didn't hit the floor from the shock of it all."

"Nope, he was scared, but very brave. Anyway, all of a sudden, his dog leapt at me and chomped down on my guidebook. While I struggled with the mutt to free my guidebook from its big jaws, Jeff tried his best to calm the beast and help me. In my struggle with the dog, the kid inadvertently fell out the window."

"Jeffrey fell out the window? Of a high-rise apartment building? Gee, Phin!" Chris exclaimed. "What did you do next?"

"Falling from that height, Jeff would have been killed. My only option was to dive out the window after him and omni us to safety."

"You're a brave man, Phineas." Chris said in awe. "How many men…uh…let me rephrase that…How many Voyagers would have the guts enough to dive out the window of a high rise apartment building to save a child?"

"Chris, bravery had nothing to do with it." Bogg quipped. "I was acting on impulse. Besides there was no other recourse, I had to do it. I would have never forgiven myself if the kid had died from that fall."

Chris smiled and nodded his head. "Phin, I've always said you were one amazing person. And your self-sacrifice in this instance just proves that."

Bogg continued with his story. "Even after I had saved the kid's life, it didn't end there. The next thing I knew, we had landed in 1450 BC. And if having a kid with me wasn't bad enough, I was now in a red light zone with no guidebook."

"What did you do?" Chris asked curiously. "I take it you were able to resolve the problem, otherwise you wouldn't be here now."

"It's funny you should ask that question." Bogg said as he grinned a bit. "Once I realized the kid's mutt still had my guidebook in his jaws back in 1982, the kid and I got into a really heated argument."

"It's not like you to fly off the handle on a whim. So what brought this on?" Chris asked.

"I was upset over losing my guidebook." Bogg replied, rather shamefully. "And I laid a guilt trip on him that to this day I truly regret."

"What did you say to him?"

"I blamed HIM for losing my guidebook. I yelled at him and told him that history was going to change because of him. Wars were gonna happen and empires were gonna fall because he couldn't control his dog. And if that wasn't enough, I made him feel even worse by saying I could lose my job because of him and his mutt."

"Sounds like you were being somewhat of a prima-dona." Chris interjected as he laughed a bit. "And how did he take it?"

"Chris, surprisingly, with all I threw at him, he jumped back in my face and stood his ground. But in light of that, even after the argument was over, I still felt bad about it."

"Phin. Don't beat yourself up over it." Chris reassured. "We all say things in the heat of the moment that we come to regret. It's just a part of being human. The real test is if we are able to resolve our differences and get beyond them."

"After that, he asked me who I was. I explained that I was a Voyager and that we were people who traveled through time to help history along. To correct problems and give it a push when it's needed. He then demanded I take him back to 1982 and after a few choice words, I explained that I my omni had malfunctioned and I couldn't take him back. The next thing we know, we hear the sound of a baby crying."

"A baby crying?" Chris asked.

"Yep, it was a baby alright. I found the little guy inside a small raft that was stuck on the edge of this river. I picked the little guy up, walked over and stood beside Jeff. That was when I discovered Jeff was a whiz at history. After he asked where we were, I pulled out my omni and told him, Egypt, 1450 BC. I didn't have a clue what was going on in this time zone. So I asked the kid. Almost immediately he grabbed the baby and the little raft and headed toward the river. "He's Moses!" He told me. I followed him to the shoreline as he put the little raft back into the water and placed the baby inside."

"What a coincidence? Jeffrey, a walking guidebook?" Chris asked in amazement. "What happened next?"

"I was skeptical at first. I didn't believe for one minute this baby was Moses. I told him that Moses was an old man with white whiskers."

Chris started to laugh at his friend. "Phin, he may have been an old man with white whiskers later in his life, but in 1450 BC he was just a baby. Did you not remember anything from your history classes at Voyager Academy?"

Bogg nodded his head as a bit of crimson appeared in his cheeks.

"Yea, Chris. I had to find that one out the hard way. Ok, where was I… oh yea, Jeff was going to send this baby down the river in that raft and I feared for its safety. Before I could say anything else, he shushed me and whispered 'Look!' The kid pointed down the river to a tent that was set up on the opposite bank and began to explain the situation. 'Moses was found by the Pharaoh's daughter…in the Nile.' Then he pushed the little raft with the baby in it out into the current."

"Smart kid, this Jeffrey." Chris commented.

"Tell me about it. After that, I pulled out my omni and we had a green light. I was shocked. It was with this, my journey began. It wasn't easy getting used to having a mischievous kid as a walking, talking guidebook. There were times when he had pushed my patience to the point that I threatened to leave him at an orphanage. Not only that, but I seriously considered leaving him with his great-grandparents, because they had convinced me it was the best thing for him. But over time, our relationship grew and we became true friends."

"Phin, what a wonderful story." Chris said softly.

"Chris, that's not the end of it. As time passed, our trust and friendship grew to a point where he was finally able to open up and talk to me about his past. Unfortunately for me, the little bit of counseling and psychology training that I received at Voyager Academy was not enough to help him deal with his problems."

"So, Phin. Tell me… What were these things he imparted to you?"

"Chris, as the story goes, not too long before Jeff and I met, he had lost both his parents in a freak auto accident. For a kid his age, it must have been a devastating blow. From what he has told me, he loved them and they too loved him dearly. I can only gather from his words, his parents were good people, who were both loving and caring and had their son's best interest in mind always. But this all changed once they left this world. With no place to call home, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle.

"Phin, how old was he when this happened?" Chris asked.

"Only twelve."

"What a terrible thing to have happen to a twelve year old child." Chris said empathetically as he nodded his head. "Umm… a twelve year old, losing both parents, that's not at all a good thing."

"I know, Chris. I cannot imagine losing my parents at that age."

"Phin, please continue your story." Chris urged.

"The kid lived a miserable life. His aunt felt an obligation to her nephew to take care of him, but his uncle really didn't want the young guy around. The two of them together were not ready to be parents and had no idea how to care for him."

"It was at that moment, shortly after he had overheard them discussing what they were going to do with him, that I arrived outside his window."

"He was virtually an orphan, Chris. He had no ties and no family that really wanted him, so I became his family, his guardian of sorts and took him under my wing. That is, until the trial."

"Oh, yeah. I heard about the trial." Chris interjected. "That was where that no-good scoundrel Drake decided to put every Voyager in the force on trial for the trumped up crimes they had supposedly committed. So, Phin, what were the charges he brought against you?"

Bogg nodded and chuckled a bit. "You won't believe it, but he accused me of violating the Voyager Code."

Chris shook his head in disbelief. "You Phin, violating the Voyager Code? I can't see that ever happening. Now as to bending the rules of the Code, that's another story."

"Yea, I have bent my fair share of them over the years." Bogg admitted, sheepishly.

"To make a long story short, once we found out Drake's plan, we also discovered that my omni was meant to malfunction and Jeff was destined to become my partner and to eventually become a Voyager."

After what seemed like hours of explanation, Bogg stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"What a terrible series of events for a young boy like Jeff to be put through." Chris said empathetically. "He must have a very strong will, otherwise he wouldn't have made it this far. And he's very lucky to have you around as a guardian and a mentor."

"That's just it Chris…I love him dearly. I feel our relationship has grown far beyond that. At this point, I feel more like his dad than I do a guardian or mentor. I feel he is as much a part of me as if he were my own son. I want to be his dad so much, I can literally taste it. I'm ready to commit, matter of fact, I've been ready for over a year now…"

"But Jeffrey is not ready to take that step…Correct?"

Bogg lowered his head. "Nope…" He said softly.

"It's been nearly two years since he lost his parents and he's still grieving over them. I've tried on many occasions to help him work through his grief, but I feel I'm in over my head with this one. Not only am I having to deal with my own feelings, but I'm having to try to help him work through his. It's overwhelming."

"Ok, I see the problem now." Chris said as he stroked his chin.

"I'd say probably his biggest fear is letting go. To accept you as their replacement, in his mind, means saying goodbye to them. It means accepting the fact they are gone. Also, he may be afraid that letting go of them could mean losing the memories and love they once shared."

"I understand, Chris, but that's not the only issue here." Bogg quipped.

"I'm listening, Phin…What else is going on?" Chris asked curiously.

"Yesterday, much to my surprise, I found out he has no interest in Christmas or anything related to it. He doesn't believe in Santa. From some of the conversations I had with him, he seems to have lost the will to live. He went so far today as to suggest that 'I should leave him at the orphanage and get it over with.' I thought my heart would break after hearing that one. I'm worried about him, Chris. Is there any hope? I'm at my wits end not knowing what to do next."

"So he has no interest in Christmas or Santa? Huh?" Chris echoed. "Well, you've come to the right place. I believe Martha and I can cure him of that problem."

"Phin, this is my assessment of the situation. I believe if Martha was here now, she would agree with what I'm about to tell you."

"Ok, Chris, I'm listening." Bogg said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"First of all, let me say this, I do understand and feel your pain. Jeffrey has experienced a great deal of loss over the past two years. He is still in pain and his heart is still broken over the loss. And it will take some time for those wounds to heal properly. As much as I hate to say it, as he deals with these unresolved issues, he is going to say things that are going to cut you to the quick. Just realize, this is not actually how he feels about you, it's the anger, the hurt and helplessness coming out as he comes to grips with this situation. Be firm and steadfast. Shield yourself and your heart. Allow only the good things to get through. Give him your undivided attention, support and protection during this time. Show him your compassion and forgiveness for those things he does that are out of his control. And above all, give him your love, always."

"Chris, I understand." Bogg acknowledged. "I will never give up on him."

"As for the issues with the loss of his parents, he has to come to grips with his loss on his own, at his own pace and in his own time. You, I, or no one else can force this. It makes no difference whether you have a little training in psychology or a Ph.d in it, you can do nothing more than assist him in finding the true path to resolution. Listening is the key. Right now, more than ever, he needs a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Martha would probably add that he needs lots of hugs and one-on-one time as well."

"And finally, with regard to your hopes and dreams of becoming his dad. As a parent myself, I understand those feelings you are now experiencing. There's nothing in this world like being a dad. I know that all too well. J-R was and still is the light of my life. He and Martha were the two best things that ever came into my life. But Phin, you need to realize, you are young. Your life is just getting started and you have many good years ahead of you. There is plenty of time for you to become Jeffrey's dad. No matter how hard you try, you cannot force him to accept you as a replacement for his parents. You need to relax and be patient with this. It may or may not happen overnight, but he will eventually come to realize you are all the family he has. And when the time is right, you'll both be ready and you'll both know it in your hearts that you are ready."

"Bogg bowed his head as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I know, Chris…I know I can't rush this…I've got to be patient with him. But it's hard, really hard."

Chris reached over and put a comforting hand on Bogg's shoulder. "Phin…I know it's hard and I know it hurts. But, you've got a little guy in the kitchen that's depending on you to be there for him as he works through his loss. With this in mind, I'm going to be very blunt with you here. You need to get a grip on these feelings and emotions that are now troubling you and be strong for him."

"I know Chris, I know. And of course, as always you are in your assessment. " Bogg said as he raised his head and wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"Remember, I didn't get an A+ from that beautiful Psychology instructor at Voyager Academy just for my handsome looks alone." Chris said as he began to laugh.

"Yea, how could I ever forget that story?" Bogg teased as he continued pulling himself together. "You worked your backside off to pass that class and then you married her."

Bogg paused for a moment, sniffled and smiled a bit. "Thank you Chris… You are a great friend. I knew you would have all the answers. You always were a smart cookie!"

"You're very welcome, Phin. I'm glad I could be there to help. You just remember, Martha and I are here anytime you need us. For now, though, we have a 'little scrooge' to cure." Chris said as he chuckled.

"What are you going to do, Chris?"

Chris again began to laugh. "You just wait and see. I will discuss this with Martha later this evening. We will put our plan into action tomorrow morning. I assure you, I have a 100 percent track record for curing scrooges. I'm not going to let this one scrooge tarnish that record."

At this point, Martha and Jeff returned from the kitchen. Jeff's stomach looked swollen from all the cookies Martha had stuffed into him.

"Well, kid. How were the cookies?" Bogg asked as he cut his eyes to one side to hide the effects of his tears. However, his quick actions did nothing to hide the obvious.

"Bogg, what's wrong?" Jeff asked with concern. "Are you ok?"

"Come here." Bogg said as he invited his partner to come over. He walked over and sat down on Bogg's knee as he put his arm around him."

"Kid, I'm fine." He reassured. "Talking over old times has me a little emotional at the moment. But I'm fine. Now, enough about me. How were the cookies?"

"Great, Bogg. You should try them, they are delicious." Jeff replied.

Bogg softly poked Jeff in the stomach as if he was testing the freshness of the Pillsbury Doughboy.

"From the looks of your stomach, the only question I have is, are there any left?" Bogg teased as he began to laugh.

Jeff looked down and saw his swelled stomach. "Yeah, you've got a point. I did eat a few too many. But there are plenty left."

"Jeff, why don't you come over here and sit down beside me?" Chris asked warmly. "I have a few questions to ask you if you are up to it."

Chris turned to Martha as he nodded and winked to signal her to get Bogg out of the room.

"Sure, Mr. Kringle, no problem." Jeff replied as rose from his partner's knee, walked over and sat down on a footstool beside Chris.

"Phineas, why don't you step into my kitchen, I still have a few of my oatmeal cookies left. From the looks of you, you need something to put some meat on your bones." Martha said as she began to laugh.

"Sure, Martha." Bogg replied. "I'd love some. It's been a while since I've had a good oatmeal cookie or two."

Once Bogg and Martha had left the room, Chris began his talk with Jeff.

"Bogg tells me you don't like Christmas. Why is that, son? I thought all kids loved Christmas."

"I like Christmas." Jeff replied, unconvincingly.

"Jeff, you are talking to Chris Kringle here. You may not realize it, but I see right through your little deception. You can tell me and I assure you, it will go no further than this room."

Jeff bowed his head. "It's just…it's just…"

"Jeff, just relax and take your time." He reassured the young Voyager.

"I really do love Christmas, it's just that it reminds me of the good times that I had when my parents were alive, especially all the fun we had. Since they passed away all the fun is gone. I miss them so much."

"As I understand it, they have been gone for what, two years now?" Chris asked.

"Yes sir."

"Please call me Chris."

"Yes Chris."

"What have the last two Christmases been like since they've been gone?" Chris asked.

"The first Christmas was when I was living with my aunt and uncle. That was before I met Bogg. It wasn't much of a holiday, we were still in shock from their deaths and I found out they really didn't want me around."

"What about the next?"

"That was when Bogg and I were on a mission and I got to meet my great-grandparents. While we were there, they convinced him he could never provide the love and stability of a family and a home. They told him, the right thing for him to do was to leave me with them. So while we were singing Christmas carols, Bogg decided the best thing for both of us was for him to just slip away. He quietly walked out the door and left the apartment. It nearly broke his heart for him to leave me there. When I noticed he wasn't around, I took off running after him and finally caught up with him as he was about to omni out."

"So as I see it, you've had two Christmases where the ones you love have either left you or attempted to do so. Now I understand why you have become such a scrooge."

"But Chris, I'm not a scrooge."

"No, Jeff, you are not."

"Let me give you some sage advice from an old guy who's been around the block more than once in his lifetime."

"What's that?" Jeff asked curiously.

"I know your heart is still broken from the loss of your parents. I feel your pain in your voice as well as your grief. But let me say this. They will always be with you for as long as you live." Chris paused for a moment and put his finger over Jeff's heart.

"In there."

"No one can ever take those memories from you. Remember that. With that said, there's one more thing. Your parents would not want you to grieve for them unnecessarily. Especially not to the point where it inhibits your growth or keeps you from being all you are capable of being. You need to come to terms with your loss and begin to put it behind you and continue living your life. That's what they would have wanted for you and you know they wanted only the best for their son."

"Yeah, they would have wanted me to succeed in life, just as they did." Jeff acknowledged, with a sad tone.

"Oh and one other thing. Phineas loves you dearly. You are the light of his life. The sun rises and sets at your command in his eyes. Don't forget that. He dearly wants you to be his son. He knows he cannot replace your biological parents, but his only aspiration at this point is having you accept him as your dad."

Jeff lowered his head and sat there, silent, contemplating Chris' words.

"That's all I have to say." Chris said. "If you ever need someone to talk to, to confide in, to help you with any problems, I'm here. And if you can't get to me, that scoundrel in the kitchen scarfing down cookies like there's no tomorrow, will be there for you no matter what. Always remember that, son."

Jeff stood up and hugged Chris. At that moment, Bogg came into the room, still munching on one of Martha's fabulous oatmeal cookies.

"Hey now! What's this? Someone's stealing hugs meant for me. I'm not only disappointed but highly jealous." Bogg said as he began to laugh.

Chris looked at Bogg with an over emphasized frown on his face. "Awww, poor thing. You probably get hugs all the time from Jeff. It's been a while since anyone hugged me." He said with a note of child-like pity in his voice.

Martha stood in the doorway and teased her husband. "Yea, Chris is so pitiful. He never gets hugs from anyone. It could be a miracle, but I believe he received one from me this morning. Unless he thought I was attempting the Heimlich maneuver." At that point, the whole room burst into laughter.

"Kid, don't you think you and I should turn in for the evening?" Bogg asked. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yea, I guess so. Goodnight everyone." Jeff said as he walked over and stood beside his partner.

"Please, let me show you to your rooms." Martha said gracefully.

"Rooms?" Bogg asked.

"Yes, we have several spare bedrooms. You both can have your own room if you want."

"Wow, my own bed. Great!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Yea, and I won't have to listen to your snoring tonight." Bogg teased.

"I don't snore"

"Yes you do." Bogg argued with his partner. "You just don't know it."

"Ok, Laurel and Hardy, c'mon!" Martha quipped.

Martha opened the door to one of her spare rooms and invited Jeff to go in. After pulling back the covers, Bogg lifted his young partner and gently placed him on the bed. He pulled the covers over him, sat down on the bed for a moment and kissed Jeff on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Jeff. I love you." Bogg said as he winked at his partner.

"Goodnight Bogg. I love you too."

Bogg rose from the bed. With Martha waiting for him in the hallway, he walked out the door and slowly closed it behind him. He then followed her down the hallway to the next room. After opening the door, Bogg went inside and she bid him goodnight.


	5. A Glimpse Into the Past

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 4 – A GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST**

Several hours later, the young Voyager was now fast asleep in his warm, comfortable bed. In his state of unconsciousness, his subconscious mind had now begun to take control. Unbeknownst to him, this night, would be the turning point in his struggle with his demons. The events of this evening would either strengthen his resolve or break him. His parents could not help him, the Kringles could not help him and even his fearless partner Bogg would not be able to protect him from what he was about to experience. Only he could help himself through this series of events.

As he now entered REM sleep, he began to toss back and forth in his bed as he slipped from reality into the world of the surreal. In his mind's eye for a moment, he was in a virtual fog. Quickly the cloudy, rippled and dissolved scene began to come into focus. The time had come and his dream had now begun.

Out in the hallway, the Kringle's grandfather clock could be heard as it began to strike the midnight hour. In the dark, quiet calm of his room, the sounds of clanking chains could be heard. Startled by the noise, Jeff sat up in his bed and tuned his ear to the sound. With each second that passed, the sound of the clanking chains grew increasingly louder. He looked about the room, yet saw nothing out the ordinary. Without warning, a hazy, ghostly image of a man appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Jeff rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to shake off what he assumed were his eyes playing tricks on him. He looked up again and the spirit was even more visible than before. As he sat there staring at the figure, he recognized the face. It was Chancellor Garth. He was wearing a long, tattered robe. His hair was unkempt and he had a large chain wrapped around his neck and around his waist. Another chain encircled his wrists and ankles and was held on by huge medieval looking locks. His image was almost glowing, yet Jeff could still see the furniture against the wall behind him.

"Chancellor Garth?" Jeff asked curiously.

"WHOOOO!!" The ghost replied in a loud echoing voice.

Jeff's eyes grew wide. "Who…who… are you?" He asked nervously.

"I AM THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST." The ghost replied in a loud thundering voice.

"Uhh…uhh, why are you here?" Jeff asked, his body trembling with fear.

"I AM THE FIRST OF THREE APPARITIONS WHO WILL VISIT YOU TONIGHT. I AM HERE TO SHOW YOU THE ERR OF YOUR WAYS, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."

"The err of my ways?" Jeff asked. "What have I done wrong?"

"MR JONES, YOUR LOSS HAS CAUSED YOU TO BECOME AN UNCARING AND UNHAPPY PERSON. YOU CARE NOT FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN, NOR YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES. YOU HAVE LOST THE GIFT OF GIVING, THE DESIRE TO GROW AND THE WILL TO LIVE. YOU HAVE BECOME SELFISH AND SELF-CENTERED IN YOUR LATTER YEARS. IF YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR WAYS, YOU WILL BE DOOMED…DOOMED FOREVER!!!"

"Please go away!" He shouted. "Bogg!! BOGG!! Help me Bogg!!! Please!"

"COME…COME WITH ME!"

"No! I will not go with you. You are not real, you're a figment of my imagination." Jeff said bravely.

"YOU WILL COME WITH ME OR YOU WILL FACE YOUR INEVITABLE DEMISE!"

Jeff, shaken up at this point, pulled the covers up over his nose. The ghost loomed even closer to his bed.

"COME, WE HAVEN'T MUCH TIME LEFT. YOU MUST COME WITH ME!" The ghost said as he held out a hand to Jeff.

Jeff threw back the covers and slipped down off the bed. He cautiously walked over and stood beside the ghost. Curious about the apparition, he stuck out his hand and it passed right through the ghost to the other side. He jumped suddenly and quickly drew it back.

"Uhh…uh…Where… are we going?" Jeff asked, his voice still trembling.

"BACK TO YOUR PAST, BACK TO A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU WERE HAPPY AND YOUR LOVE FOR OTHERS WAS ABUNDANT. BACK TO A TIME OF INNOCENCE, BACK TO…"

Jeff interrupted. "Ok, I get the picture. Back, way, way BACK!!" He said sarcastically.

In an instant, Jeff and his ghost escort vanished and reappeared in the living room of Jeff's former home.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"YOU SHOULD RECOGNIZE THIS PLACE, IT IS YOUR HOME."

In the background, Jeff began to hear a familiar voice. He quickly turned and saw his parents Bill and Kathy sitting on the sofa. Jeff, at this point still a toddler, was sitting on the floor between them.

"Merry Christmas, Kathy." Bill said as he handed her a small box with a bow on top.

"Ahhh, Bill, you shouldn't have. Thank you!" Kathy replied as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"And I have something for you also." She said as she passed a small box to him.

"I love you, honey. You are the love of my life. I am truly a blessed man. I have a beautiful wife and a beautiful son. What more could I ask for in this life." Bill said.

The young Jeffrey pulled himself up off the floor and turned to face his mom and dad.

"Ma…Ma…Da…Da…" He mumbled.

"Awww, he's so cute. I have something for you too, little one." Kathy said as she leaned over to her son.

She reached behind her and pulled out a small teddy bear with a bow on its head.

"Here you go, sweetheart. Merry Christmas!" Kathy said as she handed the present to her son.

Young Jeffrey took the bear and sat back down on the floor and began to play with it.

"What would we ever do without little Jeff here?" Bill asked his wife. "Our lives wouldn't be the same without him."

"The real question is what would he do without us?" Kathy asked. "You know, now that you mention it, we've never really talked about an alternate plan for him, if, God forbid, something ever happened to us."

"Awww, honey, nothing's gonna happen. We'll be around until we are old and wrinkled up like prunes." Bill teased.

"Why Bill Jones? Are you calling me a prune?" Kathy asked sarcastically.

"Yea and you'll still be MY little prune." Bill replied lovingly.

Jeff turned to the ghost and pleaded, "Please spirit, I don't want to see any more. It pains me too much."

"WE ARE NOT DONE HERE YET. NOW LOOK AND LISTEN!" The ghost commanded.

"Bill, I'm serious. This is important. We have no plans for our son if such an event ever occurred."

"Well honey, I guess, if the inevitable happens, he could go and live with your sister and her husband. They would make great parents."

"Yea, I guess he could go there. I would still be worried though. I would be concerned for his emotional state. Losing your parents is something that would be difficult to get over, don't you think? I don't know if my sister is emotionally up to the challenge of helping him deal with such a loss. If you had lost your parents when you were a child, how would you have handled it?" She asked.

"Well, I know I would have been grief stricken for sure, but, my mom and dad would not want me to grieve unnecessarily. They would want me to go on with my life and live life to the fullest, in their honor of course. And that's what we would want for little Jeffrey here, if that ever occurred. He would honor us by holding on to our memories, but we would want him to go on with his life."

"That's true, hon." Kathy acknowledged.

"Now, let's not think about this anymore. It's Christmas, a day of happiness and togetherness. And I'm happy that we're all together here." Bill said as he put his arms around his wife and son.

"Please spirit, take me back to my room. I can't take this anymore. Please!" Jeff pleaded to the ghost.

"REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN HERE, REMEMBER THE WORDS THAT HAVE BEEN SPOKEN. REMEMBER! REMEMBER!"

In an instant, Jeff and the ghost returned to his room. Jeff climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over him. At that point, the image of Garth began to fade as he walked toward the wall.

"Where are you going?" Jeff asked.

The ghost turned around and looked back at the young Voyager.

"MY TASK HERE IS DONE…YOU WILL HAVE TWO MORE CHANCES TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER. TWO MORE VISITS!!! REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAW HERE… REMEMBER WHAT YOU HEARD!!! REMEMBER! REMEMBER!"

The ghost turned and as he walked toward the wall, faded away.

Jeff put his head back on his pillow and laid there, contemplating what just occurred. "This must have been a dream, an illusion or maybe something I ate. That's it, I ate all those cookies. That's what caused this." He pulled the covers over him and went back to sleep.

Unfortunately for Jeff, his nightmare was not over yet. He would have two more haunting visitors before dawn.


	6. A Gift of the Present

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 5 – A GIFT OF THE PRESENT**

In the real world, Jeff was still tossing in his bed as his long battle with his conscious mind continued. In his dream, the second of three apparitions was about to manifest itself.

In his mind, Jeff was still comfortably sleeping after a visit from the ghost of Christmas past. Without warning, a hazy mist now flooded his bedroom. In the distance, the sound of heavy boots walking across a wood floor could now be heard. Jeff, awakened by the intensifying sound, sat up and looked out into the room.

"Shiver me timbers, now where'd me bloody parrot go?" The ghost shouted.

"What? Who are you?" Jeff asked.

In an instant, an eerie, cloudy, whisp of an image began to appear in front of him. He sat there, again stunned by the sight, until finally the image solidified. Surprised, he realized it was his partner Bogg.

"Bogg? What are you doing up this early?" Jeff asked.

"BOGG? WHO'S THIS HERE BOGG YE SPEAK OF?" The ghost asked in a thundering voice.

"Oh no…not again!" Jeff mumbled to himself.

"Who are you then?"

The pirate clunked over to the side of Jeff's bed and responded to his question."

"I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ!!!" The ghost said before he cleared his throat.

"Ooops! Sorry about that!" The ghost replied, sheepishly, now somewhat embarrassed. "Wrong story! Let's try that again."

"I should have known." Jeff said to himself as he nodded in disbelief. "Even as a ghost, Bogg still can't get it right."

"AYE! I AM THE BLOODY GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT! I HAST COME TO TAKE YE ON A JOURNEY."

Jeff knew the drill; he had heard it all before. He hopped out of bed, walked over and stood beside the ghost.

"Yea, yea! Take me, I'm ready to go!" Jeff said eagerly.

"WELL SHIVER ME TIMBERS, THIS BE A FRIGHTFUL SIGHT. USUALLY YE HAST TO THREATEN THEM WITH CUTTING OFF THEIR BLOODY HEAD TO GET THEM TO BLOODY COOPERATE." The ghost replied.

"Get on with it!" Jeff shouted impatiently.

"OK…OK… DON'T GET YER BLOODY KNICKERS IN A TWIST!" The ghost quipped.

In an instant, the two disappeared and then reappeared inside a dark room.

"Wait a minute, I recognize this room." Jeff stated as he surveyed the area. "This is Bogg's room. We're still at the Kringle's home."

"AYE! THIS BE YER BLOODY MATEY BOGG'S ROOM!"

"Why are we here?"

The ghost extended his arm toward the bed where Bogg was sleeping.

"CAST YE EYES ACROSS THE WAY. LOOK AT YER BLOODY MATEY!"

Jeff glanced over and noticed Bogg was violently tossing, turning and talking in his sleep.

"What's wrong with him? Bogg!! Wake up, what's wrong?"

"YER MATEY CANNOT HEAR YE. HIS MIND, 'TIS FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH EVIL DOIN'S."

"What is it about? Can't you help him?"

"YER MATEY CAN'ST BE HELPT. HE BE DREAMIN' AND FIGHTIN' WITH HIS GUILT. HE BE HEARIN' AGIN THY BLOODY FOOL TONGUE YE BE LASHIN' AT HIM."

"What guilt? What is he dreaming about. Tell me!"

The ghost slowly waved a hand in the air at his side. An image of a television screen appeared."

"Yea, right, we're gonna watch television. Like that's going to help the situation." Jeff said sarcastically.

"SMART KIDS GIVE ME SUCH A BLOODY PAIN. NOW SHUT YER CAKE HOLE AND LISTEN LEST YE BE HANGED BY YER TOES FROM THE YARDARM.

"Ok…OK I'm listening." Jeff shouted.

"THIS BE A WINDOW INTO YER MATEYS SOUL. IT WILL LET YE SEE ALL THE BLOODY EVILS THAT BE TROUBLIN' HIM."

The ghost waved his hand in front of the screen and a picture appeared. Bogg was reliving the moment when Jeff had caused him to question whether or not he wanted him as a partner. It was as if the whole incident had been filmed. Jeff stood there and watched as it replayed on the screen in front of him.

"_Besides, you have a new family."_

"_Remember me? I'm the big, overbearing, pain in your backside."_

"_Yea, I guess."_

"_What! You guess! Now wait a minute, kid. I thought you and I were inseparable. Are you now telling me otherwise?"_

"_Well, no Bogg, but…I", _

"_But what? We're either close or we're not. I'm either your partner, your friend, your guardian, or am I not. Jeff, be honest. I want to know. Now out with it! I want the truth!"_

"_Bogg, I love you, but I love my parents also. It's hard…it's hard for me to replace them. Don't you understand!"_

"_Bogg, please don't turn your back on me… Please Bogg."_

"_Bogg please, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Please forgive me Bogg. Please"_

"_Jeff. I'm sorry too. All I ever wanted to do was to make you happy. You know I would do anything for you, even give my life for you if the need arose. I just don't want you to feel like you are obligated to stay with me. You have to want this relationship. I can't force it upon you."_

"_I want to be with you Bogg! I do, really, honest! There's no one else I would rather have as a friend."_

Jeff lowered his head in shame. "I can't believe I said that. I can't believe I treated him so badly. Boy was I ever a jerk."

"AYE! THERE BE MORE BLOODY TROUBLES. CAST AGAIN YER EYES ON THAT WINDOW!" The ghost urged as he pointed to the screen.

Jeff turned his attention back to the screen and listened intensely.

"_Kid, I…I… just wanted us to have a good time. I thought you would enjoy it. I…I…guess I was wrong."_

"_Bogg, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, really. It's just…it's just…_

"_It's just what?"_

"_It's just I don't like that play any longer."_

"_Why? Jeff. Tell me why?"_

"_I'm so sorry, Bogg. You planned all this for me and I have ruined it for you. Why don't you just leave me at the nearest orphanage and get it over with."_

In the background, Bogg had begun to toss and turn more violently as he shouted, "NO! NO! I WON'T LET HIM GO, YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM."

Suddenly the picture on the screen changed. Bogg was now living a nightmare of extreme proportions. The scene was set at the Kringle's home. Two men in uniforms with silver omnis appeared and began to forcibly take Jeff from the home. One of the men was none other than Drake himself. Jeff stared at the scene as it unfolded.

"_Voyager Bogg, you have been found guilty of neglect of a minor child, and several other charges of allowing harm to come to a fellow Voyager. We have come to take Jeff from you. It's obvious you cannot care for him. We will take him some someplace where he will never be harmed and he will be well cared for."_

"_Drake! You dirty rotten scoundrel, where are you taking him?"_

"_He will be going to an orphanage where he will live out the remainder of his life in safety and happiness." _

_"No, No! He's my son, I won't let you take him, you hear! Give him back!"_

"_He's not your son, Voyager Bogg! You only think he is! It's your imagination…And besides, Jeff has parents already, he doesn't want you as a parent. He's said so himself._

"_Bogg, I've never said that!"_

"_Don't lie to Bogg, Jeff! You've thought it and said it on many occasions. The omni has recorded every instance. And the omni doesn't lie._

"_It only lies when you've tinkered with it Drake!"_

"_Bogg! Don't let them take me, Bogg, help!!!"_

"_Drake I'll get you for this. You're mine you hear me! I'll hunt you down to the ends of the universe."_

_At that moment, Jeff, Drake and the other official vanished._

"_Jeffrey!!! Please bring him back!"_

_Bogg fell to his knees and began to sob profusely. Chris and Martha came over and began to console him for his loss.  
_

"This is awful, spirit. I feel so… so… ashamed and so awful. Please, I can't watch this any longer. Please take me back to my room." Jeff pleaded to the ghost.

"AYE! SO WE BE A WEE BIT SICKLY NOW? YER BLOODYJOURNEY 'TIS NOT YET OVER… YER MATEYS BLOODY DREAM IS NOT YET OVER. SHUT YER BLOODY CAKEHOLE AND CAST YER EYES ON THAT PANE, LEST YER TOES BE TIED TO ME BLOODY YARDARM!" The ghost commanded.

_Bogg slowly raised his head. An evil look now came across his face. He pulled out his omni, opened it and began to turn the time encoding wheel counterclockwise._

"_Drake, you're not getting away this time!!!"_

"Spirit, what is Bogg doing? I've never seen him do that before." Jeff asked.

"YER MATEY, HE BE DOIN' THE BLOODY TIME REVERSAL FUNCTION OF HIS OMNI. IT BE USED ONLY IN ROUGH SEAS AND ONLY WITH PERMISSION OF YER MATEYS AT THE VOYAGER COUNCIL. ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE IS A CAPITAL OFFENSE."

"What do you mean by 'capital offense'?" Jeff asked.

"IT MEANS, ME HARDY, HE CAN BE HUNG FROM THE BLOODY YARDARM FOR DOIN' IT!"

"They can't hurt him for doing this. He's just dreaming." Jeff replied.

"SHIVER ME TIMBERS YE DAFT BOY! MAYBE YE DON'T BLOODY UNDERSTAND ME. IT BE ONLY A DREAM, BUT YER BLOODY MATEY BE ACTUALLY SEEIN' HIS BLOODY FUTURE. LEST YE CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE, THIS, YE DAFT BOY, BE BLOODY REAL."

Back on the screen, Bogg had finished rotating the dial of the omni and quickly pressed the center of the globe. Suddenly, time began to reverse. The images on the screen began to quickly look like a movie shown with the projector in reverse. Once Jeffrey was back in the picture, Bogg again pressed the globe and time continued forward at a normal pace.

Bogg reached over and grabbed his partner, twirled the dials on the omni, pressed the button and vanished. Much to his surprise he and Jeff landed back in the courtroom at VHQ. Suddenly, the tribunal judges appeared and read off the charges.

"_Voyager Bogg, you have been found guilty of the unauthorized use of the time reversal function of your omni. This offense has only one punishment, termination. At dawn, tomorrow morning you will be taken from your place of confinement and your life terminated."_

"_What about Jeffrey?"_

"_Your partner will be assigned as an apprentice to another Voyager."_

"_But I don't want to be assigned to another Voyager! I want Bogg."_

"_As much as I hate to say it, by using the time reversal function, he, according to Voyager Code has forfeited his life. Unfortunately it's the Code and we all must abide by it."_

"_No! No! I won't let you kill him. No! Let me go! No!"_

"_Bailiff, if you would please escort Voyager Bogg to his cell, to await his termination."_

At this point, Jeffrey was now terrified by what he had seen in Bogg's dream. He turned to the ghost and pleaded with him to tell him how to change this future.

"Spirit, please, I don't want to see any more, please take me back to my room, NOW! I beg of you, please, please tell me how I can fix this."

The ghost waved his arm in front of the screen and it in turn disappeared into thin air. He looked at the young Voyager and began to speak.

"THE WAY TO CHANGE YE BLOODY PRESENT OR FUTURE, NOW THAT BE A SECRET EVEN TO THIS HERE BLOODY OL' PIRATE. YE BE THE ONLY SCRUFFY MATEY WHO BE KNOWING THE LOCATION OF THAT THERE TREASURE. 'TIS NOT IN ME BLOODY POWER TO WAG ME TONGUE AT YE."

In the twinkling of an eye, the spirit whisked Jeff back to his room. As Jeff climbed back into bed, he began to walk across the floor toward the wall.

"I guess your job is done." Jeff said to the spirit.

The spirit turned around and began to speak.

"AYE! ME BLOODY WORK HERE IS DONE. YE HAST ONE MORE BLOODY CHANCE, ONE MORE BLOODY CHANCE TO SEE THE ERR OF YER BLOODY WAYS. YE WILL BE SEEN ONE MORE BLOODY TIME THIS EVE. AFTER THAT, YE WILL EITHER FIND YER TREASURE OR HANG FROM THE BLOODY YARDARM."

The spirit turned and before he reached the wall, vanished.

Jeff sat in bed, terrified by the prospect of Bogg's future. "I have to fix this…somehow, I have to figure out what I have done to cause this to happen. But what did I do?"

He sat back on his pillow and after a while, again fell fast asleep.


	7. A Bleak Future

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 6 – A BLEAK FUTURE**

In the real world, Jeff continued to toss and turn in his bed. After a while, he had thrown all the covers off him and onto the floor.

Once again in Jeff's dream silence had fallen upon his bedroom. However, this was only to be for a short time. For now the soft sounds of harp music could be heard. Jeff, awakened by the sound, again sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Oh no, here we go again." He mumbled to himself.

In front of him, an eerie, glowing mist began to manifest itself as the music became more intense. Suddenly the mist changed into the form of a human female. She had long blonde hair and a flowing dress which was covered in beautiful flowers. As she stepped closer to the bed, Jeff gasped as he now realized who was in his midst.

"Susan?" Jeff asked. "Wait! I know, you're not Susan, you just look like her."

The final ghostly apparition began to speak.

"I AM THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME. I HAVE COME TO SHOW YOU A GLIMPSE OF YOUR FUTURE AS IT SHALL UNFOLD AT THIS POINT. COME, MY CHILD, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME."

Jeff slid out of bed once again, walked over and stood beside her. She waved her hand over his head and in an instant, they vanished. Moments later, they appeared in a dark room, the only light was that coming from a small fire in the fireplace.

"THIS MY CHILD IS YOUR FUTURE, THE WAY IT IS CURRENTLY SET TO UNFOLD."

"Who is that wrinkled old man sitting by the fireplace all alone?" He asked the ghost.

"MY DEAR, IT IS YOU! IN YOUR OLD AGE OF COURSE."

"Me? That's me? Can't be!" Jeff exclaimed in a state of denial.

"IT'S YOU."

"But I look so lonely and unhappy. What gives here?"

"LIKE I SAID, THIS IS YOUR FUTURE. THE EVENTS OF YOUR PAST HAVE LED YOU DOWN THIS PATH. YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS, NO FAMILY AND NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. YOU WILL LIVE OUT YOUR LIFE A LONELY, UNHAPPY, SHELL OF A MAN."

"Where's Bogg?" Jeff asked with a hint of concern in his voice. "Bogg would take care of me."

The ghost waived her hand into the air and an image of a tombstone appeared.

"LOOK MY CHILD. ALLOW YOUR EYES TO SEE THE IMAGE AND YOUR MIND TO PONDER ITS MEANING."

"It's a tombstone!" Jeff exclaimed.

"LOOK CLOSER…CONCENTRATE!"

Jeff began to concentrate his mind on the image. In an instant he was able to focus in and read the writing on the stone.

"It has writing on it. Wait. I can read it now. It says; 'Here lies Phineas Bogg.' It shows his birth date and the date he died. Wait a minute, there's something written at the bottom. I can see it now, it reads, 'A true Voyager, friend, companion, and guardian. He died of a broken heart.'"

"A broken heart?" Jeff asked, puzzled by the last sentence.

"YES MY CHILD, A BROKEN HEART. HE LOVED YOU SO MUCH. HIS HEART COULDN'T TAKE THE STRAIN WHEN YOU FINALLY DROVE HIM AWAY."

"What do you mean 'I drove him away?'"

"YOU HELD ON TO THE MEMORIES OF YOUR PARENTS AND PUT UP AN IMPENETRABLE WALL BETWEEN THOSE WHO LOVED YOU AND YOUR SOUL. MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING VOYAGER BOGG TRIED TO REACH OUT AND SHOW THEIR LOVE FOR YOU. BOGG EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO VOLUNTEER HIS SERVICES AS A FILL-IN DAD. BUT, YOU WERE SO WRAPPED UP IN YOUR PAST, YOU DROVE HIM AWAY. HE LOVED YOU UNCONDITIONALLY, WITHOUT QUESTION AND THE STRAIN OF YOUR ACTIONS, BROKE HIS HEART. MONTHS LATER HE PASSED ON TO THE OTHER SIDE."

"Oh my God, Bogg! What have I done to you? I never meant for this to happen. I loved him, spirit, I truly loved him." Jeff cried out as he began to sob uncontrollably.

After a moment he raised his head and looked up at the spirit. "What must I do to change this? There has to be a way! There must be a way!" He pleaded.

"WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS NOT NECESSARILY SET IN STONE. THIS FUTURE CAN BE CHANGED. YOU HAVE THE POWER IN YOU TO ALTER THIS TIMELINE, TO CHANGE THIS FUTURE. BUT YOU MUST FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO DO SO. YOU MUST BREAK DOWN THESE BARRIERS YOU HAVE ERECTED. YOU MUST ONCE AGAIN ALLOW LOVE TO COME BACK INTO YOUR HEART AND INTO YOUR SOUL. IT IS ONLY THEN, WHEN YOU WILL SEE THE LIGHT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO CHANGE WHAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU."

"Spirit, you are talking in riddles. Can't you explain in simple terms." Jeff asked impatiently.

Suddenly, the ghost waved her arm over Jeff's head and they returned to his bedroom.

"Spirit, you haven't answered my question. Can you explain?" Jeff asked once again.

"REMEMBER, MY CHILD. REMEMBER ALL WHICH HAS BEEN REVEALED TO YOU THIS NIGHT. EXAMINE WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN HERE IN GREAT DETAIL. LOOK FOR THE SIGNS. OPEN YOUR HEART AND YOUR MIND AND ALL WILL BE REVEALED TO YOU. FOR NOW, I MUST LEAVE YOU TO PONDER THIS. GOOD LUCK, MY CHILD."

The ghost turned around, walked into the darkness and disappeared.

Jeff, still upset and sobbing, climbed back into bed and leaned against his pillow as he evaluated the events of the night. After a while, he had an epiphany. He began to talk to himself.

"It's me. The key to all of this is me. I have caused all this to happen. I have held on to the memories of my parents to the point I have shut out all others, including Bogg. I was too stupid to realize, to see all the things he has done for me. Why could I not see this? He has given up virtually everything for me, for my benefit. He has offered to make the ultimate sacrifice for me; to become my dad as well as to be my friend and my partner. And what did I do, I had to stick my foot in my big mouth and hurt him. And not just once, but many times over. I could not have hurt him more if I had stabbed him in the heart with a knife. I have turned him away. Oh what a terrible jerk I've been."

Jeff began to replay the conversations he and Bogg had had in the past in his mind. In each case, Bogg had virtually bent over backwards to try to give him what he wanted the most; A stable home, a loving family and his unconditional love. And in each case, Jeff always seemed to say something or do something that ultimately would push him farther away. He began to see the pattern. It was as plain as the nose on his face.

"I was so selfish and self-centered. I was only concerned about me! Me, it always has to be about me! My parents would be furious if they knew how rude and uncaring I've been to Bogg. They taught me better."

Jeff sat there for a while, quiet and solemn. Before he awakened in the real world, his subconscious mind was still trying to work out the solution to this puzzle while still in his dream-state. Suddenly, the answer finally came.

"My parents are gone, they are not coming back and as much as I hate to let them go, I must! I have to! That's it. That's the key to all of this. This is what I have been shown tonight. My life is stagnant. I have been so caught up in my fear of letting go of them, I have stopped living myself. I've stopped loving. I've stopped caring. I understand it all now. Letting go of my parents does not mean I have to give up my memories of them. I don't have to fear what Bogg has to offer. I love Bogg and his sacrifice could only be a tribute to them. It would never be anything otherwise."

"Bogg!" Jeff screamed in his dream… "What have I done to you Bogg! Bogg!!!, Bogg, come back to me Bogg!!! I love you. I want you as my dad!!!"

Back to reality. Jeff had spent most of the night experiencing the most horrid of dreams. It was a dream which had pushed the boundaries of his imagination and forced him to confront the demons which had haunted him for such a long period of time. And now, with the ordeal finally over and the true path laid out in front of him, he began to scream out for his partner in his sleep. Bogg, in his bed not too far away heard his cries, jumped up and ran to his side. He burst through the bedroom door and ran over and sat down on the bed.

"Jeff!!! Jeff! Wake up Jeffrey! It's only a dream!" Bogg said as he gently shook his arm.

"Bogg! What have I done? Come back Bogg!!!" Jeff exclaimed.

Suddenly, he began to awaken from his deep sleep, rubbed his eyes and slowly pulled himself up. Realizing Bogg was at his side; he threw his arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

"Hey, kid. It's okay! It was just a nightmare. I'm here now." Bogg reassured.

At that moment the Kringles walked through the door to see what was going on.

"Phin, what's going on here?" Chris asked as he yawned.

"Sorry we woke you. Jeff just had a bad nightmare. I'm here and everything's ok now."

"Are you sure?" Martha asked as she walked over and stroked Jeff's hair in a motherly fashion.

"Yes, we're ok now. I believe I'll stay here with him for the rest of the night. You two, go on back to bed. Everything's under control."

"Ok…then…Goodnight!" Chris said as he turned and exited the room.

"Goodnight!" Bogg replied.


	8. A Stunning Confession

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 7 – A STUNNING CONFESSION**

The Kringles had left the room and went back to bed. Bogg was sitting beside his partner trying to console and calm him after his terrible ordeal. Jeff, still shaken up by his experience again began to cry.

"Hey, kid! I'm here. Nothing's going to harm you. I promise. And I'm not gonna leave you, ever. So just put that thought out of your mind right now." Bogg reassured as he smiled and pulled Jeff tightly against his shoulder.

"Bogg….It…It… was awful." Jeff said as he sniffled. "It was so real. I still can't believe it."

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

"No, I…I…"

"That's ok, I understand. Believe it or not I too had a nightmare of sorts tonight. I still cannot believe what happened in it."

"No Bogg, it's not ok. At least, not between you and I." Jeff confessed.

Bogg lifted his Jeff's chin and looked at him. "Hey now." He said softly. "What do you mean…it's not ok between us?"

Jeff again began to wail from the guilt and shame he was now feeling.

"Just that, it's not ok. Bogg, I have been such a jerk to you." Jeff whined. "And you didn't deserve any of it. I've been so mean and uncaring. I…"

"Wait a minute." Bogg said as he put his arm around Jeff and squeezed him. "You've not been a jerk to me."

"Yes, I have, an awful uncaring jerk." Jeff said as he sniffled. "I'm surprised you didn't leave me at the orphanage long ago."

"Being a jerk is no grounds for me to abandon you or give up on you for that matter. What makes you think I'd ever do such a thing?" Bogg asked in a low, loving tone.

"And why not? With the way I've treated you, you have every right to do so." Jeff said as tears continued to run down his cheeks.

"C'mon, kid, talk to me. It's obvious you have had all this bottled up inside you for quite a while. You can tell ol' Bogg here. Whatever you say, I assure you, I won't be mad. I love you Jeff and I want us to work this out between us." Bogg said with a smile.

Jeff sat up, took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"Bogg, first of all, I am so sorry for the way I have treated you over the past two years we've been together. I have been a terrible jerk to you and you did not deserve any of it."

"Yea, ok, I get the picture. You've been an uncaring jerk to me." Bogg said somewhat sarcastically as he tried to put things into perspective. "And you know, I have always been kind and considerate to you as well. NOT!" Bogg smiled a bit and squeezed his partner's shoulder.

"Just hear me out Bogg." Jeff interrupted.

"Ever since the time we met, you have taken me under your wing. You have given me love, protection, support, discipline, a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. You have listened to me as I have struggled with coming to terms with the death of my parents, which to this point, I haven't successfully accomplished. You have put up with my continuous ranting and raving. On many occasions, I have refused to listen and have put my very life in peril."

Bogg, sensing how sad Jeff was at the moment decided to inject some humor into the conversation.

"Wait a minute, you left out one thing." Bogg said.

"What's that? " Jeff asked with a disconsolate tone.

"I have had to put up with all your terrible teasing and all those practical jokes you have done to me." Bogg said as he began to laugh.

"Yea, I have pulled some good ones on you." Jeff said as he chuckled a bit.

"You have given so much to me at a time when I had nothing left. And in spite of all of this, I've not appreciated any of it. I have done everything possible to push you away."

"After my parents died, I put a wall up between me and the outside world; between me and you; between me and everyone. You've been the only person who has reached out to me. You have offered your love, support and guidance to me unconditionally, no strings attached. And like I said what did I do? I've let my stupid fears keep me from experiencing the ultimate. Love. God what a jerk I've been."

"Kid, don't beat yourself up over it." Bogg said reassuringly. "I know what you've been going through. Believe me. I may be a dumb ol' pirate, but I didn't fall off the ship yesterday. I've seen the signs of your grief and experienced it first-hand. There have been times, like yesterday, that your words have stabbed me right here." Bogg pointed to his heart and then continued. "But I know that those words were expressions of your pain and grief. With this in mind, I was determined, no matter what you said to me you were not going to push me away and I was not going to give in to you...Never! Ever! So if you are worried about driving me away, well, I've got some bad news for you. It ain't gonna happen. I'm Phineas Bogg, the pirate, the Voyager, your partner and your friend. You are not gonna get out of this one that easily. You hear, you little pain." Bogg said as he rubbed Jeff's head and smiled.

"Bogg, if you only knew." Jeff said as he began to sob again. "There's one thing you have always wanted from me, that up to this point, I could never give you. You have always wanted me to accept you as my dad and for me to be your son. And up to this point, I could not bring myself to allow this to happen. For doing so meant I would be letting go. Letting go of those I loved so very, very much. But they are gone now."

As Jeff continued to bare his soul to his partner, he again began to sob.

"I can't bring them back. My horrible dream has revealed this to me. I'm now convinced the time has come to let go. They would have wanted me to go on with my life and to be happy. I want to be happy, I want a family and I want you, Bogg!"

"Kid, I know. I've wanted ever so much for you to accept me as their replacement. But, I know, in my heart, no matter how much I want that to happen, the reality is I cannot replace Bill and Kathy. I will tell you this. If and when the opportunity arises, I will damn well do my very best to come close." Bogg said as he winked at Jeff.

Bogg reached over and rubbed Jeff's back. "Kid, you may not know this but, this is the most mature talk you and I have ever had. I'm so very, very proud of you. Your parents would also be very proud of you at this moment as well. And for all its worth, let me say this here and now. For all those times when you have been a jerk, for all those times you have supposedly been uncaring, unloving and unappreciative, for all those bad things you think you have done to me, I truly forgive you wholly and unconditionally."

"And another thing. As you sit here at this moment, know this. Bill and Kathy are watching you from above. They see your actions and they know your true feelings and what's in your heart right now. They cannot be anything but proud of you at this moment. They are proud of your accomplishments, they are proud about your becoming a Voyager and last but not least, they are proud of how brave you become and much you have matured since they left. Whatever you do, where ever you go, always remember this."

"Thanks." Jeff said as he wiped away his tears, looked up and smiled at Bogg. "I love you."

"And I love you, too you little pain." Bogg replied.

Jeff sat silently on the bed for a few moments and then focused his attention back on his partner.

"Bogg."

"Yea, kid?"

"One more thing."

"What's that?"

"The time has come…" Jeff said as he began to choke up.

"Time for what?" Bogg asked.

"It's time. It's time…for me…to open my heart." Jeff said.

"What do you mean, Jeff?" Bogg asked curiously.

"To fulfill your ultimate dream and mine as well." Jeff said.

"Kid your talking in riddles. C'mon, tell me, what's it time for?" Bogg asked.

"Bogg."

"Yes, Jeff. "

"I want to be your son and in return I truly want you to be my dad for now and forever. That is, if you still want to." Jeff confessed.

Bogg sat back on the bed, stunned and left totally speechless by Jeff's words. Tears of joy began to flow from his eyes. Never in a million years did he ever expect to hear those words come from his partner's lips. He turned and looked at Jeff.

As he attempted to hold back the flood of emotion and respond to his partner, Bogg was so choked up; his words could scarcely emerge from his mouth.

"You… know…uh…kid…" Bogg said as he sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's gonna be a tough job for me and I really don't know if I have the strength to handle it. I'd have to feed you, clean up after you, make sure you got to bed on time and then there's those awful tasks like making sure you washed behind your ears, brushed your teeth and put on clean underwear. And then there's the discipline I would have to dole out, you know, those stern talks, groundings and let us not forget a jolly good spanking now and then."

"Bogg!!!" Jeff exclaimed. "A spanking? You've got to be kidding, right! I'm almost fourteen you know."

Bogg laughed. "I knew I'd get a rise out of you with that one. And the look on your face was priceless."

Bogg looked over at Jeff, picked him up and sat him on his lap.

"Ok, now that you've shown great courage in posing the question, are you equally brave enough to accept my answer? It's not too late for you to retract your question. You know, once I make my decision it is final and irrevocable." Bogg said with a smile.

"Yes, I am strong and brave enough to handle your answer. I WILL NOT take it back. Now spill it!" Jeff ordered.

"Yes, YES!!! Emphatically YES!" Bogg exclaimed as he jumped up and held his new son in his arms and hugged him tight.

At that moment, the Kringles heard all the noise and again came running into the room.

"What's going on now? We could hear the shouting all the way down the hall."

"I have some great news." Bogg said excitedly.

"What is it Phineas?" Martha asked.

"Jeff wants me to be his official dad. For now and forever more! Isn't that great?" He exclaimed.

"Well, Bogg, I guess congratulations are in order. Break out the cigars…It's a boy! Five feet tall and 100+ pounds. And just think, you get to skip all the bottle washing, the midnight feedings and all those diaper changes and go straight to the teenage phase." Chris teased as he began to laugh and celebrate.

"That's wonderful, Bogg." Martha said as she hugged the two of them. "Jeff, you couldn't have picked a better person to fulfill that role in your life. I know you have made his dream come true and I know he has done the same for you."

Bogg hugged his partner to the point, where he was now gasping for breath. He looked at Bogg and said in a raspy voice. "Bogg. Can you put me down now? I can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry about that…here…" Bogg said as he put his partner down on the side of the bed.

"Phin, so what's next?" Chris asked.

"Well, first, we need to get some sleep, there's not much time left before morning. I guess tomorrow, we will need to find someone who can make this an official adoption."

"I know just the person." Chris acknowledged. "He can draw up the paperwork and file it with the courts for us."

"What about Bogg?" Martha asked. "How are we going to explain that he has no address and then there's the even bigger question, his birth date. What are they going to say when he puts down he was born in the 1700's? Bogg is over 300 years old at this point in time and he doesn't look a day over 27."

"Martha, they won't think anything of it. You forget, I'm talking about a lawyer and court on Planet Voyager." Chris said.

"Ok, you had me worried there for a moment. I just knew the courts here were going to have some big questions once they saw that paperwork."

"Well, guys, I guess Martha and I need to get back to bed. We'll talk more about this in the morning. Goodnight!" Chris said as he put his arm around Martha and the two exited the room.

"Goodnight to you both." Bogg said.

"C'mon kid. Let's get some shuteye. Scoot over!" Bogg said as he climbed into bed and pulled the covers over both of them. For a while, the two lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to go back to sleep due to their joy and excitement.

"Hey kid?" Bogg beckoned.

"Yea dad." Jeff replied.

"Ooooh that has a nice ring to it. But you can still call me Bogg if you like." Bogg said.

"Ok…Bogg it is." Jeff agreed.

"Kid, you may not know it, but you have made me the happiest person in the universe at this moment."

"Yea, Bogg, I know. And you have made me the happiest kid in the universe as well."


	9. A Bit of Fun and Frolic

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 8 – A BIT OF FUN AND FROLIC**

The next morning, Martha had risen early to get a jumpstart on the activities of the day. Once she had dressed and combed her hair, she put a load of laundry into the machine and then made her way to the kitchen to start breakfast. Realizing her guests would probably sleep in late after their night of extreme excitement, she could take her time preparing the morning fare. Her husband, Chris had also risen early and was on his way to the kitchen his first cup of joe.

"Good morning, honey." Chris said as he walked over and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, once all the excitement was over, I slept like a log."

"Breakfast will be ready in a little bit. Why don't you sit down and I'll pour us both a cup of coffee."

"Thank you, honey."

Chris walked over and sat down at the table. Martha sat two cups down in front of him and brought the percolator over and poured their coffee. For a moment, she sat down beside him and they began to discuss the events of the prior evening.

"Chris, what do you think happened last night?"

"I really don't know. When I spoke with Phin yesterday, he seemed to be at his wits end trying to figure out what was going on in Jeff's head."

"Really? I just can't imagine why? Jeff's such a good kid. Did Phin say exactly what the problem was?" Martha asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

"He did. It seems the kid is still grieving for his parents. They died some two years ago in an auto accident. According to Phin. Jeff's been struggling to come to grips with their deaths for quite a while. He's tried on many occasions to talk him through dealing with his pain as well as the loss. You know, Phin's smart and very cunning, but he's far from being a psychologist. In our conversation, he expressed to me that he felt helpless at this point, his exact words were 'I feel I'm in over my head'." Chris said.

"That's terrible, especially for a child that age to have no parents. But how did he end up with Phin?"

"It's a long story, but Phin's omni malfunctioned and he landed in the kid's room. Jeff somehow accidently fell out the window of his high-rise apartment and Phin dived out after him and used his omni to save his life."

"Wow, Phin dived out after him? How brave." Martha said in awe.

"From that point, the two became close friends and virtually inseparable. Jeff traveled with Phin on his assignments and virtually became his guidebook as well as his partner. From the passion in Phin's voice as he told me the story, he has loved every moment of the time they have spent together."

"I can tell. All you have to do is watch them interacting with each other. They are almost joined at the hip." Martha said with a chuckle.

"Yea. I'd say Phin came into the picture at the most opportune time, especially since Jeff had no family. Well, at least none that really loved him."

"How sad!" Martha said sympathetically. "First you lose your parents and then you find out no one in the family loves or wants you. What a blow to the psyche."

Martha picked up her cup and took a sip of her coffee.

"Here's the interesting bit. Sometime later, Phin was brought before the Voyager tribunal on some trumped up charges. You remember, the big Drake fiasco."

"Yes, hon, I remember. Several of my colleagues were tried before the council and banished. Luckily it was all a big trumped up pack of lies."

"Well you have Phin and his friend Susan to thank for that." Chris concluded as he took a sip of his coffee. "Those two discovered what Drake's real plans were and put a stop to them. But not only that, they also discovered Phin's omni didn't actually malfunction. He was actually meant to be in Jeff's room at that point in history. His purpose there was to take Jeff under his wing to become a Voyager. They were actually meant to be together."

"I guess it was lucky that Phin arrived at that time. The way I see it, if it hadn't been for Phin's support and love, Jeffrey wouldn't have made it this far. He needs to give himself some credit. He may not know it, but he's done a great job. He's just come upon some bumps in the road and needs a little assistance. If I had only known. I would have been more than happy to try to help the little guy." Martha replied.

"Hon. Jeff's problem is not the only issue here. Believe it or not, Phin too had a problem." Chris said.

"Phin? What's up with him? He seems ok to me." Martha asked with a concerned tone.

"Well he has been a lonely Voyager for years. He has had no family and no attachments. He has always wanted be a dad and Jeff's loss had presented him with what he envisioned as an opportunity of a lifetime. According to him, when Jeff came into his life, it was the best thing that ever happened. After a while, Phin even considered himself the kid's dad. He did everything that a true dad would do." Chris explained.

"Ok, I don't see anything wrong at this point. His paternal instincts are just kicking in. That's normal for a man of his age." Martha said.

"That's just it. With Jeff's arrival, his paternal instincts not only kicked in but, in reality shifted into overdrive. Phin wanted so much for Jeff to accept him as his dad, that he could literally taste it. The problem was that Jeff wasn't ready for another dad. He didn't want to let go of his parents and go on with his life."

"I see the problem. " Martha said. "Phin wanted a son, and Jeff wasn't ready for a new dad. Simple, isn't it."

"Yea I guess."

"Obviously something unusual happened to change Jeff's mind last night." Martha said as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Martha, it must have been that dream he had. Nothing else has changed."

"You know hon, dreams are powerful things and can be highly influential." She explained. "Sometimes your conscious mind uses them as tools to help resolve conflicts in your life. And it sounds like Jeff must have had one rude awakening last night during the one he had. Especially to change his mind about Phin, so suddenly."

"I'm just happy Jeff has finally overcome his grief and accepted him. If I know Phin, he will make a great dad for the little guy. Jeff, in turn will be a great son and companion for him as well." Chris acknowledged.

The aroma of bacon, eggs and fresh brewed coffee now permeated every nook and cranny of the Kringle's home. Like a rooster crowing at the crack of dawn, the scent made its way into Bogg and Jeff's bedroom and with very little effort, nudged them awake.

Bogg slowly opened his eyes, yawned and then stretched a bit. After allowing a few moments for his eyes to come into focus, he sat up in bed and looked over at Jeff. His partner was wide awake, lying in bed with a large smile on his face staring at the ceiling.

"Hey!" Bogg said to his partner as he playfully punched him on the shoulder. "How long have you been awake?"

Jeff sat up. "Not too long, Bogg. Did you sleep well, in spite of all I put you through last night?"

"Yea, I slept really well in spite of it all."

"Jeff?"

"Yea, Bogg.

"Thank you, kid."

"For what?"

"For coming into my life and being a real pain." Bogg said as he chuckled.

"A real pain, huh?" Jeff teased.

Jeff threw back the covers and leaped on top of his partner and began to tickle him unmercifully.

"No, Jeff. Don't do it. Stop it!" Bogg playfully pleaded.

Jeff continued his torture and Bogg began to squirm and laugh so hard he got a severe case of the hiccups.

"C'mon….uk…Jeff…uk… Stop… I…uk … Give! … uk…You win!"

Jeff stopped his teasing, sat back down on the bed and looked over at his partner.

"Just remember, I'm your son now. And you know what's so good about that?" Jeff asked.

"No…uk…what?" Bogg asked as he tried to suppress his hiccups.

"Now I can be a pain anytime I want." Jeff teased. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh…uk…really!" Bogg exclaimed as he quickly threw back the cover and sat up on the side of his bed. Without warning, he grabbed Jeff and threw him face down over his knee.

"Well I'd say…uk…after that comment, it's time…uk…to put my parenting skills to work. I guess one good…uk…pain, deserves another."

By this time, Jeff was laughing uncontrollably and squirming to get free. Bogg continued to hold his partner fast in his grip.

"So you think you're gonna spank me, huh?" Jeff teased his partner again and began to squirm.

"There's no…uk…thinking about it, kid. It's time you…uk…had one laid on you." Bogg chuckled. "I think that's the whole…uk…problem, you haven't had a good beating…uk… in quite a while. You know kid, when I was your age, I…uk…got a beating every day. It didn't do any harm to me."

Bogg's latest practical joke was coming off without a hitch. For added effect he quickly raised his hand high into the air.

"Are you ready, kid?" Bogg asked, while trying to control his laughter.

Jeff saw Bogg preparing to lay one on him through the corner of his eye and then began to tease his partner even more.

"I dare you Bogg." Jeff said as he laughed and squirmed even more. "I double-dog-dare you!"

"You double-dog-dare me, huh? " Bogg quipped. "Well, that just makes me want to do this even more. I think you really need to be taught a lesson, a lesson in respect for your elders."

"No, I don't need to be taught a lesson, Bogg." Jeff cried out, laughing profusely.

Bogg lowered his hand again. "And why not? You deserve it." Bogg said matter-of-factly as he grinned. He then raised his hand high into the air again.

"C'mon Bogg." Jeff said as he laughed and squirmed.

By this time, Bogg was somewhat fatigued from struggling with his partner as he tried to escape his clutches. He put his hands around Jeff and sat him upright onto one knee.

"I knew you couldn't do it." Jeff teased.

"No, I couldn't do that, but…" Bogg said as he threw his partner over his shoulder and started to walk into the hall.

"I have no problems cooling you off in the snow outside." Bogg said as he laughed an evil sort of laugh.

"Bogg! No, Please! I don't need to be cooled off!" Jeff pleaded.

"Oh well!" Bogg said as he chuckled. "You should have thought of that before you opened that smart mouth of yours. Now you're in real trouble."

Bogg walked down the hallway with his partner in tow and made his way into the kitchen. Jeff was laughing and begging his partner for a reprieve.

"Phin, Jeff! What's going on?" Chris asked, somewhat puzzled by what he saw.

"Ahh! Nothing… Nothing really. Jeff just needs a little bit of discipline at the moment." Bogg said as he winked at the Kringles.

"My goodness Jeff, you've only been his son for what…a few hours now and you are already in trouble. Umm…that's not good. So what did you do?" Martha asked as she played along with the joke.

"Kid would you like to elaborate on that?" Bogg teased.

"I guess." Jeff replied.

Bogg turned around so Jeff was facing Martha, to allow him to answer her question.

"Uh…umm…it's like this…" Jeff said as he stumbled on his words.

"Go ahead kid, spill it. Tell her what you said to me."

Jeff's face was now a little bit flushed as he was somewhat embarrassed by his little slip up. "Uh…I told him that now that I was his son, I could be a pain anytime I wanted to." Jeff said as he started to giggle.

"Ok, Jeff…I think you left out one part. Go ahead, tell her the rest of it." Bogg teased.

"I also said that he couldn't do anything about it." Jeff confessed.

"Oh well, Phin…I guess you have no other choice than to punish him."

"Yeah, he wanted to spank me, but he was too chicken." Jeff exclaimed.

After hearing this, Chris and Martha, were now splitting their sides laughing at the young Voyager's comments.

"Why Bogg, I can't believe that you, one of the bravest of all Voyagers could be a 'chicken?'" Chris asked in an attempt to add fuel to the fire.

"That's it!...That's it! So I'm chicken now? I'll show you how chicken I am…C'mon" Bogg said.

"Oh no! Bogg, don't you do it." Jeff screamed out to his partner.

Bogg took no notice of Jeff's pleas as he walked over and opened the back door. At that moment a rather large gust of cold wind blew inside.

Bogg stepped through the door, took his partner off his shoulders and held him in his arms.

"Bogg, please, I take it back. Please don't cool me off in the snow." Jeff exclaimed as he squirmed to get free and laughed.

"It's too late for that now. Kid, you're not getting outta this one."

In one swift and fluid motion, Bogg slung Jeff out into the yard and into a snow drift of mammoth proportions. Jeff sunk so deeply inside that the only part of him that could be seen was one single bare foot sticking straight up in the air. After a few moments, he managed to get to his feet. At this point, Bogg was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe."

"Chicken? Huh? Looks like the 'yolks' on you, kid." Bogg teased while he continued to laugh at his snow-covered partner.

Jeff's aggravation with his partner was now apparent. In that instant, he picked up a handful of snow and slowly began to pack it into a ball. As he did so, Bogg stood and watched as he continued to tease him.

"Uh Jeff…uh…listen to me." Bogg said as he smiled and took a step backward. "Uh…If I were you, I'd really think twice about that."

"Why should I?" Jeff quipped. "Once is enough."

Before his partner had a chance to respond, Jeff donned an almost devilish smile and whipped his arm around, launching the projectile toward him. Caught off guard with no means of escape, Bogg stood there defiantly as the snowball landed squarely in the middle of his chest. Once the deed was done, he looked down in disbelief and brushed the snow away. With an evil smile on his lips and a lowered brow, he nodded slowly as he raised his head and pointed his finger.

"You've had it now, kid!" Bogg said in a calm, even tone. "This…my friend…IS WAR!"

Inside, with a front row seat to all the threats and propaganda going on outside, Martha and Chris continued sipping their coffee and rolling with laughter.

"Martha, I think you'd better close the door or we might just get caught in the crossfire." Chris advised.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" She asked as she made her way over to the door and closed it.

"They'll be fine. They are just having some fun and bonding with each other. After what they've been through. They deserve it." Chris said.

"But they're barefoot and don't have anything on to keep them warm." Martha asked, rather concerned for the two. "They'll catch cold."

"Martha, just come over here, sit down and drink your coffee. They'll be just fine. A little cold weather never hurt anyone."

Martha walked back to the table and sat down beside her husband. As they continued to sip their coffee, the two watched the war unfold outside the window.

After about 15 minutes, the snow dust had finally settled. The battle was now over. Bogg and Jeff, still laughing at the fun they just had, made their way toward the door. Both were cold, wet and covered head to toe in a thin white layer of snow. They opened the door and proceeded to come inside.

"Who won?" Chris asked as he looked at the two.

Bogg and Jeff looked at each other and shrugged. "I'd say it was a draw." Bogg replied.

"Yea, it was a draw." Jeff acknowledged.

"Well, you two get inside and get out of those wet clothes before you catch cold." Martha said in a motherly tone. "There are some of J-R's old clothes in the closet in your room. You should be able to find something dry to put on there. By the time you're dressed breakfast will be ready."

"Thank you Martha." Bogg said as he put his arm around Jeff.

"C'mon kid."


	10. The Kringle's Plan

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 9 – THE KRINGLE'S PLAN **

Bogg and Jeff, barefoot, cold and soaked to the bone, continued to poke fun at each other as they made their way down the hallway to their room. Once inside, Jeff went over and sat down on the bed as Bogg rummaged through the one and only closet in the room looking for some suitable clothing for the two of them.

"Bogg?"

"Yea, kid." He responded in a muffled tone from within the huge closet.

"How's it feel?"

Bogg stopped for a moment and stepped outside.

"How does what feel?" He said curiously as he held up a pair of jeans in front of him, checking them for size.

"How does it feel to be a dad?"

Bogg turned his attention to his partner as a huge smile came across his face.

"Kid, it's great!" He exclaimed before he turned and went back inside.

"Uh…Bogg…"

"Yea kid."

"What about me?"

Bogg poked his head through the door. "Jeff, you're talking in riddles here. C'mon, out with it."

"I guess…what I'm trying to say is, have I lived up to your expectations as a son?"

Bogg quickly slipped on the jeans and an outing shirt he had found. He walked out into the room as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"I'd say yes, in light of the fact that you've only been my son for what, some 6 hours now." Bogg replied as he straightened his sleeves and buttoned the cuffs. "But you never know…I may be wrong. Only time will tell though."

"Bogg!!!" Jeff exclaimed. "You're teasing, right?"

Bogg strolled over and stood beside his son. With a very serious expression, he began to respond to Jeff's question.

"Yes, I'm teasing." He said warmly as he turned and sat down next to his partner.

"I guess for the moment, I need to put aside my teasing and get serious. Kid, as much as I hate to admit it, this is going to be a big change for the two of us. I've got to figure out how to be a dad to a thirteen year old kid and you've got to get used to me being your dad. It's a learning experience and it's not going to be without its challenges. I'm I making sense, kiddo?"

"Yea, I guess so." Jeff replied softly. "Are you saying I'm gonna be a challenge?"

Bogg nodded and smiled. "Nope, not at all. I'm just saying we'll be taking our relationship to whole other level. I'll still be your partner and your friend of course, but in addition, I'll be taking on this new role of dad as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I may make some decisions for you that you don't necessarily agree with."

"Oh…" Jeff replied in monotone as he sat there staring down at the floor.

After a few moments, Jeff finally spoke up.

"Yea, I guess I'll do some stuff that you won't necessarily agree with either. Like the little stunt I pulled back at Plymouth Rock."

Bogg looked over and put his arm around his partner as he chuckled a bit.

"Yea, like that little stunt at Plymouth." He agreed.

"But just remember this, no matter what happens, we need to continue to be open with one another. If you've got something on your mind, I want you to tell me, ok?"

"I will, I promise." Jeff replied. "And Bogg… If you have something on your mind, you need to come and tell me as well, ok?"

"Believe me, I will." Bogg said as he reached over and hugged his new son for a moment. Once this moment of bonding was over, Bogg stood up.

"C'mon, let's see if we can find you some dry clothes." He urged as the two of them went inside the closet.

After a time and quite a bit of rummaging, the two finally emerged. As Jeff made his way into the room, his overly long sleeves and pants legs made him look more like a duck than a young boy. With Bogg following closely behind, he paused for a moment as he watched his partner waddle toward the bed. Putting his hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide his laughter, he nodded his head, reflecting on the unusual sight.

"Kid, from the looks of it, it'll be a few more years before you grow into those. Here, let me see what I can do to keep you from doing yourself a mischief."

Jeff stumbled over to his partner and sat down on the floor in front of him. Bogg got down on his knees and began rolling up his partner's pants legs and shirt sleeves.

"There…now that's better."

"Thanks Bogg." Jeff replied.

"I was beginning to wonder when you might start quacking." Bogg teased. "You know, if it walks like a duck…"

"Funny, Bogg…Very funny." Jeff said cynically.

The two, now toasty warm in their dry clothing, walked back into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Chris took a sip of his coffee and then started prodding the young Voyager for information.

"I take it you two have gotten it all out of your system?" Chris asked.

"Yep!" Jeff replied as he looked at his new dad.

"There's no hard feelings?" Chris continued.

"Chris, everything's great! Isn't that right Bogg?"

Bogg reached over and gave his partner a noogie. "Couldn't be better. I'm the happiest person in the world right now."

As Chris subtly continued to analyze Bogg and Jeff's abilities to work out their problems, Martha, who was standing at the stove listening, picked up three plates of food and made her way over to the table.

"Here you go guys! Scrambled eggs and bacon." She announced as she placed the dishes on the table in front of them. "I'll be right back with the biscuits."

"Wow! This is great!" Jeff exclaimed. "I'm sooooo hungry."

Martha made her way back over to the stove. After donning a pair of oven mitts, she lowered the oven door and quickly pulled out a piping hot pan of biscuits. After resting the hot pan on top of the stove, she grabbed a platter from the cabinet above and transferred the biscuits one by one onto it. Once the task was complete, she carried the platter over and set it down in the midst of the hungry beasts.

"Would you care for some hash browns or maybe some oatmeal? I have both if you'd like."

Bogg looked at his hostess and responded. "Yes, that would be great. I'm so hungry I could eat a bear."

"So what would you two like to drink?" Martha asked. "We have milk, OJ, coffee, and of course, fresh spring water."

Jeff spoke up. "Milk please, ma'am."

"And what about you Phin?"

"Coffee please, Martha." Bogg replied.

Martha began to dish up the oatmeal and the hash browns. She balanced the two bowls on one arm and grabbed the percolator before slowly making her way back to the table.

As she put down the percolator and the two dishes, Chris looked up at her and with a loving smile graciously complimented her on her efforts. "Martha, you have outdone yourself this morning."

"Well thank you honey." Martha replied before darting over to the refrigerator to get the milk. "You know I love to cook and I love it when guests drop by. Especially old friends like Phin." Making her way back to the table, she poured a cup of coffee for Bogg.

"And let's not forget young Jeffrey here.", Martha said as she stepped over to Jeff, put her arm around him and poured him a glass of milk. "It's been quite a while since we've had someone his age under our roof. Makes me feel like a mother again."

Jeff looked up at Martha, blushing a bit and put on a grandiose smile.

"Thank you, ma'am." He replied.

"Now honey, don't get too wrapped up in this mother thing." Chris teased as he chuckled. "It's a little bit too late for us to be parenting again."

"I know hon, but it brings back memories of when we were raising Chris Jr. It's hard to believe he has his own family now. I miss him so much." Martha said as she reminisced about the past.

Bogg put down his fork. "J-R finally tied the knot?" He asked in amazement.

"Yea." Chris replied. "He finally found himself a mate. It was touch and go there for a while, but the right person finally came along."

"That rotten scoundrel never sent me an invitation to his wedding." Bogg admonished, playfully.

Martha spoke up. "We're sorry about that Phin. I recall he tried to locate you, but you were on assignment at the time. He really did want you to come."

"Yea, Phin. He wanted you to be his best man." Chris said.

"I really wish I'd been there." Bogg said. "I'd have loved to have seen that joker during the ceremony. Knowing him, I bet he was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

"You could say that." Chris said wryly. "At one point in the ceremony, he was sweating so profusely, you could see it running down his face."

"How long have they been married?" Bogg asked.

"About 5 years now." Martha responded. "And believe it or not, they have 3 kids already."

"Three!" Bogg exclaimed. "Well, I know who to talk to if I have any parenting problems or questions."

"Why would you ever have a problem with me, Bogg?" Jeff asked innocently as he took a bite of a biscuit.

"Kid, you never know. But it's nice to know someone who's had some experience in the area." Bogg said as he smiled at Jeff.

"Yea, he has three kids. Two boys and a girl." Chris acknowledged. "And every time they visit, Martha spoils them rotten."

"I spoil them?" Martha exclaimed in a high pitched tone. "And I suppose those three bikes that mysteriously showed up on their doorstep a couple of weeks ago were given to them by the tooth fairy."

Chris bowed his head, feeling a little embarrassed by the truth. "I don't spoil them, honey. Besides, they needed a new bike to ride."

Martha shook her head in disbelief. "Phin. He's not telling you the whole story. He bought those bikes for them, alright. One of them isn't even out of diapers yet and the other two can barely stand on their own. How on Earth would they ever be able to ride them." She teased.

"Ahhh, Martha. It's just a slight oversight on my part." Chris said with a smile. "They'll ride them eventually."

"I guess, if you say so!" Martha replied.

Bogg and Jeff began to laugh.

Suddenly, Chris looked over at Bogg, who was chowing down on the delicious breakfast his wife had served them.

"Phin, I contacted a lawyer friend of mine on Voyager and explained to him that you needed to start adoption procedures for young Jeffrey here."

"You did. What did he say?" Bogg asked.

"Well you're in luck. It seems as though the law states that before you can finalize an adoption request, the parent must have guardianship of the child for at least  
one year. This is to assure that parent and child have time to make sure they are compatible with each other emotionally. Since Jeff has been with you for 2 years now, you have satisfied that requirement. The only thing left now is filing the paperwork with the courts and having it approved."

"How long will it take to file this paperwork?" Bogg asked.

"He said it could take several days to a week." Chris responded.

"When do we get started?" Bogg asked.

"It's already begun." Chris said. "He said he would start working it up today."

"Do we need to go see him, you know, so he can get all our vitals?" Bogg asked.

"No, Phin. He has access to the VHQ computer. He can find all the information he needs there."

Jeff's ears perked up as he heard every word of Bogg and Chris's conversation.

Bogg turned to his partner and began teasing him. "Kid, it looks like in a few days, I'll own you, lock, stock and barrel."

"Heyyyyy! You make it sound like I'm a piece of property. I only agreed to be your son, not your servant." Jeff exclaimed.

Bogg reached over and put his arm around his partner. "Gotcha!"

"Bogg!!!" Jeff yelled.

Chris and Martha began to chuckle. Martha put down her fork and looked at the two.

"Phin. I have some grocery shopping to do today. Do you mind if I borrow your new son for a while to help me with it?"

"Not a problem, Martha. He probably will enjoy getting away from me for a while. I wouldn't want to smother the kid, you know. Besides, he can help you carry all the stuff home."

"Jeff, how would you like to go into town with me today?" Martha asked.

"Sure. That would be great!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Good! Let me do a little bit of cleaning in here, get my coat and we'll be off." Martha replied.

"While the two of you are grocery shopping, Phin and I will stay around here and keep an eye on the house." Chris said as he winked at Martha.

"You two do that! We wouldn't want the house to run away or something." Martha teased her husband and laughed.

"C'mon Phin. Let's go in the living room and talk." Chris urged. "We still have some catching up to do."

"Yea, sure….sure Chris." Bogg replied with a rather curious expression on his face.

Martha finished tidying up the kitchen, grabbed her coat and purse from a nearby closet and headed toward the door.

"Ready, Jeff?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am. I'm ready." He replied.

"Honey!" Martha yelled. "We're leaving. We'll be back in a little while."

"Ok. Hon. You two be careful." Chris yelled to his wife.

"We will!" She said as the two walked out the door.

Martha and Jeff trudged through the morning's new fallen snow to the garage and jumped into her vehicle. She started the vehicle, opened the garage door and slowly backed it out and headed down the driveway. As pulled out onto the road and the drove away, Martha sprung the real reason for their trip on Jeff.

"Jeff, my young friend, I have a surprise for you."

"What's that, ma'am?" Jeff asked, somewhat curious.

"You know tomorrow is Christmas Day and I think you and I need to find a nice gift for your new dad."

"A gift? What can I afford to buy for Bogg? I have no money." Jeff said in a sad tone.

"Well, as far as money is concerned, you have no need to concern yourself. I have that covered." Martha assured. "You just consider this my Christmas gift to you."

"Thank you ma'am." Jeff said.

"Now, enough of the sad face. You need to be coming up with some ideas for a gift for Phineas. We're almost at the mall." Martha said.

Jeff sat there, silent, as he entertained several ideas in his mind. Several minutes later, Martha pulled into the parking lot of the local mall, parked the vehicle and switched off the motor.

"Well, looks like we made it and in record time too!" Martha said as she opened the door and stepped outside. "C'mon Jeff, we've got to hurry and get back before they suspect something."

"Coming ma'am!" Jeff said as he quickly opened the door and stepped outside.

-----------------

Back at the Kringle's home, Chris and Bogg were sitting in the living room by the fireplace, catching up on events which had occurred since Chris had retired. After some time had passed, knowing the coast was clear; Chris sprung his latest idea on his longtime friend.

"Phin. Now that we are alone, there's something I really need to discuss with you."

Startled by the tone of Chris's words, Bogg looked over at this friend, a curious, somewhat worried look now painted on his face.

"Chris, uh….umm…what is it? Is there something wrong between you and Martha?" Bogg asked.

Chris started to laugh. "Oh, heavens, no! Phin! From the look on your face, I'd say that didn't come out quite like I had intended it."

"Whew!" Bogg exclaimed as he breathed a sigh of relief. "You had me really worried there for a moment."

"No. What I wanted to talk to you about is this. You know tomorrow is Christmas Day."

"Yea, Chris. I know." Bogg said.

"I thought it would be a good idea for us to go out and find a gift for the lad. You know, Jeff hasn't had a really good Christmas in several years and I think it's time we change that."

Bogg sighed a bit, bowed his head and did not respond.

"Bogg, what's wrong?" Chris asked with concern. "Was it something I said?"

"Yes, unfortunately, it was something you said." Bogg said regretfully.

"What did I say?"

"It's a good idea, Chris. But there's only one problem."

"Ok, I'm all ears, What?"

"I'd love to go buy something for Jeff for Christmas. But how? I have no money?"

"Oh, Phin! You forget, this is Chris Kringle you are talking to. And money my friend is the least of your worries at this point."

"I don't understand?"

"Don't you worry about the money. I have that so-called 'problem' covered."

"No Chris, I can't take money from you…I…"

"Phin, please! I hate to be blunt, but, shut up and listen!" Chris said, somewhat agitated.

Bogg sat there, stunned. In all their years of being friends, Chris had never been angry with him or at least he had never shown it.

"Phineas Bogg! You have been there for me on numerous occasions, assisted me with assignments and covered for me when I was sick. You've helped me and Martha through the most pressing of circumstances. On top of that, you took J-R under your wing and helped him become the person he is today. My dear friend, if it wasn't for you and your loyal friendship and sense of giving, none of what you see here would have been possible. So, in light of all this, please, put aside your pride and let me, just this once, help you."

Bogg now embarrassed by his actions, lowered his head again, his face flushed with a touch of red. This little talk reminded him of a similar talk he had had with Jeff, some time ago.

Chris stood up, walked over to the chair where Bogg was sitting and put a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Phin, I'm sorry I had to be so blunt, but like I said, let me help you. Let this be a gift from me to you. To thank you for all those times you've been there for me."

Bogg stood up, shook his friend's hand and embraced him as he slapped him several times on the back.

"Thank you Chris…You ol'…You ol'… I don't know what you are, but I'll think of something." Bogg said warmly.

"I'm sure you will and I'm sure you won't let me live it down either." Chris replied. "Now, c'mon, we have some shopping to do."

As Chris headed toward the door, Bogg yelled out. "Hey, wait a minute."

"What?"

"How are we going to get there? Martha took the car."

"Now Phin. Do I look like someone who would allow something like that to stop us? Don't you remember the 4 by 4?"

"Oh, that's right!" Bogg exclaimed. "How could I ever forget? Especially when we've had so many interesting adventures in that vehicle."

"Your mind is slipping. It's a sure sign of old age you know." Chris teased.

"Hey, let's not forget, I'm not as old as you are." Bogg replied.

"Ok…Ok…I give…" Chris said as he surrendered to his friend. "I know all about your reputation as the professional prankster. And I also know when it's time to quit. Besides, we have to get going. We need to be back here before Martha and Jeff return."

"Ok, I'll let you slide on this one." Bogg admonished. "But next time, you won't be so lucky."

As the two walked out the door, they continued to poke fun at one another and reminisce about all the good times they had. Once they reached the garage, they climbed into Chris's huge 4 x 4 pickup and took off on their quest to find a gift for their young friend.

Several hours had passed. Jeff with Martha's assistance had found the perfect gift for his new dad. Quickly leaving the mall, they went by the food mart and picked up what groceries Martha needed and arrived back at the Kringle's home. With their arms now loaded down with bags and packages, they opened the door and went inside. Much to their surprise, the house was empty.

"Honey! We're back. Honey? Chris, are you there?" Martha yelled.

She put her armload of purchases down on the kitchen table and quickly walked into the living room. Jeff did the same and followed closely behind.

"Huh? That's odd?" Martha said as she put on the performance of a lifetime.

"What ma'am?" Jeff asked.

"Well, I thought Chris and Phin were going to watch the house. I guess they had other plans."

"Yea, it sure looks like they had other plans."

"Hey, that's a good thing. Now we can put away these groceries and wrap Phin's gift and hide it before they get back." Martha said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Martha and her young friend hurriedly put away the groceries and took Bogg's gift into the Kringle's bedroom and began to quickly wrap it.

Jeff, I'd say you did quite well. Phin is just going to love it." Martha said.

"I hope so, ma'am. I couldn't think of anything else to get him."

"Well, I'll put this in my closet for safe-keeping until tomorrow." At that moment, she heard the front door opening.

"Honey, we're back." Chris yelled. "Martha? Are you there?"

"Yes, Chris. I'll be right there." She yelled.

"Quick! We've got to hide this before Bogg sees it." Martha quickly picked up the gift and slid it under the bed, for the moment. "C'mon Jeff, let's go find your dad."

Chris and Bogg were now standing in the kitchen with Jeff's gift still in Bogg's hand. Suddenly, they heard the footsteps of Martha and Jeff as they strolled up the hallway.

"Phin! Quick, hide the gift! They're coming." Chris whispered.

Bogg, nervous about being caught, juggled the gift in his hands and almost dropped it on the floor. Just seconds before they were caught, Chris grabbed the package from his friend's hands and tucked it behind a nearby plant.

"Hi, hon. Where have you two been?" Martha asked as she winked at Chris. "I thought you two were going to keep an eye on the house."

Bogg looked down at the floor as Chris replied to his wife's staged question.

"Well, hon, it's like this. We got to talking about all those adventures we had in the 4 by 4, so I decided it was time we went on another one." Chris explained.

"Yea… and boy was it an adventure, too!" Bogg said rather nervously.

Chris turned to his friend, nodded and smiled a bit to give him the signal 'Good job!'

"Well, I'm glad you two made it back this time, especially since the last time you two went on one of those '4 by 4 adventures', it somehow ended up knee deep to a giraffe in mud. The poor thing. We weren't able to rescue it until the spring thaw." Martha teased the two unmercifully as she laughed.

"Now Martha, it wasn't all that bad. It was only there for a few days." Chris explained.

Bogg shook his head. "Chris, as much as I hate to admit it, she's right. It was bad, very, very bad!"

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?" Chris exclaimed.

Jeff and Martha at this point about lost it as they listened to Chris and Bogg's bantering.

"Ok, why don't you two go into the living room, compare notes and get your stories straight, while I get us some coffee. Ok?" Martha urged.

"Ok dear." Chris replied as he turned and left the kitchen. C'mon Phin."

"Jeff, if you don't mind, could you lend me a hand here?" She asked.

"Sure, ma'am."

Bogg and Chris exited the room in such a swift manner one would have thought the kitchen was ablaze. Once they had sat down on the sofa, Chris realized his friend was now on the edge of his seat with worry. Bogg just knew they were going to find the gift and their big secret would be discovered.

He looked at his long-time friend and whispered, nervously. "What are we going to do now? If we don't hide that gift soon, they will find it."

"Don't worry, Phin. Everything's under control. When she brings us our coffee, I'll make like I need to go get some more sugar or something, get the present and take it to our room and hide it. You just keep Martha and Jeff occupied as I make my way from the kitchen to the hallway. Ok?"

"Ok, Chris. But this better work!" Bogg said skeptically.

"It will! Just calm down and act naturally or you'll give it away for sure." Chris admonished.

At that moment, Martha came through the door with a large tray of cups and confections. Jeff followed closely behind with the percolator. She put the tray down on the coffee table and turned to take the percolator from Jeff. After pouring the coffee, she passed the cups to Chris and Bogg, finally taking one for herself before she sat down. Jeff took the glass of cola she had poured for him and sat down beside her.

"So, dear, how was your trip?" Chris asked with a wink.

"Oh, the same as usual, you know, melon thumping, tomato poking and the occasional bread squeezing. You know, it's hard work but it's all in the name of freshness!" Martha replied.

"You mean you actually squeeze the loaves of bread?" Bogg asked, amazed at the concept.

"Why yes, Phin. Anytime you buy bread you should squeeze it first. That's how you determine if it's fresh or not. And believe me, there's nothing worse than a ham sandwich made with stale bread."

"I've never heard of doing that." Bogg replied.

"Why yes. But it's not the only way to determine if it's fresh or not. Some people squeeze it, others pinch it and others poke it. I prefer to squeeze it." Martha said matter of factly.

Chris looked over at his friend. "You may not know it Phin but that's the reason why I have so many bruises on my body. She's constantly squeezing me to check to see if I'm fresh." He said with a laugh.

"Yea and you know you love every minute of it, honey!" Martha quipped. "That's one reason why I check so often."

Chris glanced at his wife with a perplexed look. "And what's the other reason?" He asked.

"To make sure you are still alive." She teased. "You know we are not getting any younger."

Suddenly the whole room burst into laughter.

Chris took a sip of his coffee. A few seconds later, he turned up his nose and grimaced. He immediately looked down at the tray for a moment and then stood up.

"Hon, where are you going?" Martha asked.

"You forgot the sugar. I'm just going to the kitchen to get some." Chris replied as he winked as his wife.

"But you always drink your coffee neat. " She reminded.

"I know, I know. But today, I think I'll sweeten it for once." Chris said as he went through the door.

"Well, I wonder what's gotten into him?" Martha asked curiously. "Just when you think you know someone, especially someone who you've lived with for 30 years, you find out you really don't know them at all. Interesting…Isn't it?"

"Uh…umm…you said it, Martha." Bogg acknowledged.

A few minutes later, Chris quietly peeked around the kitchen door to signal his friend to start his diversionary tactics. Bogg cleared his throat and spoke up.

"So…so…Martha…what other household hints do you have besides that bread trick?" Bogg asked.

"Well Phin. Fresh carrots will snap when you try to bend them. Tomatoes should be firm, not mushy to the touch and…"

Chris tiptoed through the kitchen door with the gift and was almost to the hallway door, when the floor under one of his feet began to squeak. Jeff, hearing the noise, started to turn his head to observe. Bogg saw what was about to occur and yelled at Jeff.

"Hey kid! Be careful! Don't spill your drink on the furniture!"

"What? I'm not going to spill it. And besides, the glass is on the table." Jeff replied.

"Well, I just wanted to make you aware of that." Bogg said as he winked at Jeff. He then turned his attention back to Martha.

"I'm sorry Martha. I didn't mean to interrupt our conversation, but you know, boys will be boys. I didn't want him to ruin your beautiful furniture." Bogg said regretfully.

"That's quite alright, Phin. Jeff cannot hurt this furniture. It's the newest thing in upholstery. It is specially treated so if anything is spilled on it, it runs right off. Neat huh?"

Bogg, now becoming highly bored with matters of a domestic nature and at a loss for words, replied. "Yea… that's neat, very, very neat!"

Suddenly Chris came through the kitchen door with the sugar bowl and a spoon.

"I found the sugar." Chris said.

"Great honey! Now come back over and sit down." Martha said.

"So Phin, Jeff, what are you going to do for the rest of the afternoon?" Martha asked.

"Well, I really don't know. I haven't given it much thought." Bogg replied. "Can you think of anything kid?"

"Bogg, in light of my lack of sleep last night, can't we just lie around here like a couple of couch potatoes?" Jeff asked.

"If it's alright with our hosts, it sounds just fine with me." Bogg agreed.

"That's fine with us." Chris acknowledged. "You two deserve a rest and that's what you came here for. A rest. So please, make yourselves comfortable. You can watch some tv or read a book from the small library we have in the hallway. Or you can just do what I do…snooze!"

"You two just relax and enjoy yourselves." Martha said. "Dinner will be ready about five-ish or so."

"That's great. Thank you both." Bogg replied eagerly.

For the rest of the afternoon, Bogg, Jeff and Chris remained in the living room and watched tv, read and napped. For the three, time passed by very quickly. Before they realized it, dinnertime was upon them. Martha came into the now quiet room and roused the three sleeping bears so that they could enjoy their early evening feast.

"Hey Guys! Hey, wake up sleepy-heads, dinner's ready!" Martha shouted.

Chris began to awaken from his long nap. "Huh? What?" He replied sleepily.

Bogg sat up on the sofa, rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I don't know about you, but that's the shortest forty-winks I've ever had."

"You said it Phin. I'd say it was only 28 winks at the most." Chris said as he smiled.

Bogg reached over to his partner, who was lying on the opposite end of the sofa. Using one finger, he began to tickle Jeff's feet. Jeff tried to kick his hand away, but Bogg continued with the torture. A few moments later, Jeff awakened and sat up.

"Heeeeyyyyy! What are you doing? Stop that, Bogg! That's not funny."

"I thought it was really funny, kid."

Martha came back to the door. She put her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot on the floor, now somewhat agitated at the three.

"Ok guys, c'mon. I can't wait for you all night. Dinner is getting cold." She exclaimed.

Chris looked over at Bogg and Jeff. "Guys, we better go, before she gets really mad at us."


	11. An Unexpected Surprise

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 10 – AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE**

After enjoying the grand feast that Martha had prepared. Bogg, Chris and Jeff, pushed themselves away from the table. For a time, they sat there rubbing their full stomachs and moaning about how much they had eaten. Martha put down her fork, lifted her napkin from her lap and after touching the corner of her mouth, placed it on the table.

"Well, guys, would you like some dessert?" Martha asked. "We have chocolate cake for those of you who need your daily chocolate fix and pecan pie. What's your pleasure?"

"Ummmmmmm, uuuuuuuhhh." Bogg moaned as he exhaled a deep breath. "Thank you but, I don't think there's room for anything else. I can't believe I ate all that I ate. But it was sooooo good! Martha, you have always been a good cook. That had to be the icing on the cake for Chris to marry you."

"Ahhhhhhhh…you said it Phin." Chris said as he too moaned in agony. "Just imagine having a feast like this every night."

"I can, Chris. Now I know why you are so 'plump'." Bogg teased. "It's all these 'feasts' you've had throughout the years."

"I'm not plump!" Chris bellowed. "I'm just pleasingly insulated."

"So that's what they're calling it now." Martha said as she laughed. "What about you, Jeff? Care for some dessert?"

"Thank you ma'am, but I really don't think so. I too feel a bit 'stuffed' at the moment."

"Ok, guys, suit yourselves."

Bogg slowly rose from the table and pushed in his chair. "Kid, I think you and I should turn in for the night. Hopefully, we will get a good night's sleep. I think tonight, though, I'll sleep in your room just in case you have another nightmare. If that's ok with you.

"Sure Bogg, not a problem. I'll try not to snore." Jeff replied.

"You do that, kid. C'mon, there's no time like the present." Bogg acknowledged as he motioned for his partner to join him. "Goodnight, Martha, Chris!"

"Goodnight you two. Pleasant dreams." Chris replied.

"Goodnight to you both." Martha said.

Jeff got up, pushed in his chair and followed his partner to their room.

Once Jeff had taken off his shoes, he slowly climbed into bed. Bogg, after struggling to get his boots off, finally did the same. Within minutes, the effects of the large feast they had consumed and lack of sleep the previous night had worked their magic and the two were sound asleep. Hours later, not to be outdone in their quest for sleep, Martha and Chris joined them.

With the exception of the grandfather clock in the living room striking the midnight hour, the Kringle's home had been quiet now for several hours. Bogg and Jeff were warmly tucked in their bed, sawing logs like lumberjacks gone mad. The home was dark, except for the light of a full moon beaming through the lace curtains on the windows. Chris and Martha were fast asleep at this time, or were they? Before the night was over, Bogg and Jeff would discover an unbelievable secret about their hosts that no one on planet Voyager or planet Earth had any idea about.

Outside, the faint sound of hooves could be heard as they trampled through the crusty snow. In that same instant, an intruder began to lurk about in the shadows of the Kringle's living room. As he stealthily and quietly tiptoed around the room, attempting to complete his work for the night, he accidently knocked a small trinket off one of the end-tables and it fell to the floor with a clunk.

Jeff was awakened by the sound. He sat up in bed and punched his partner on the shoulder.

"Bogg! Bogg!" He whispered. "Bogg, wake up! I heard a noise!"

Bogg mumbled somewhat and turned his head to one side.

Jeff reached over and shook him, but his partner was so exhausted, he just didn't wake up. Curious as to the nature of the sound that awakened him, Jeff slowly crawled over his partner, jumped to the floor and began to tiptoe out into the hallway to investigate.

As he cautiously made his way up the hallway, he heard yet another unusual sound coming from the Kringle's living room. Arriving at the door to the room, he stopped, and covertly observed the events occurring in the room. Once he saw the figure in the moonlight, he gasped for a moment and rubbed his eyes. 'Is my eyes deceiving me, or is this who I think it is?' He thought.

Jeff took one more glance around the corner and confirmed his suspicions. It was the jolly ol' man himself. As he stood there watching, Santa in his usual red and white holiday attire unloaded his bag and placed the contents under the Kringle's Christmas tree.

Claus continued his hasty exercise and when his work was complete, he turned and laid a finger aside of his nose as if to indicate he had forgotten something. It was at this moment, a beam of moonlight struck the jolly ol' man's face. Stunned by what he had just seen, Jeff quickly darted back behind the door in a state of shock. Upon taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, he continued to observe Claus in his efforts.

Much to his surprise, in the twinkling of an eye, the jolly ol' guy waved his hand and disappeared in a field of shimmering lights. In response to what he had just experienced, Jeff took off running back to his room to attempt to wake his partner once more. He stopped at the side of the bed and began to whisper loudly as he shook him vigorously.

"Bogg! Bogg! Wake up, you've gotta wake up Bogg! C'mon Bogg, Please! You gotta see this!" Jeff whispered.

"Huh? What?" Bogg mumbled as he sat up. "Oh, it's you, Jeff. What's going on?"

"Bogg, I know you are going to think I've lost it, but I assure you I haven't." Jeff rambled.

"Kid, what are you talking about? I don't understand. If this is another one of your practical jokes, you're gonna be in big, BIG trouble." Bogg warned.

"No Bogg, this isn't a joke. I just saw Santa Claus! He was in the living room!" Jeff exclaimed in a whisper.

"Yea, right! You saw the jolly ol' man. Now I know this is a joke. Besides, you told me yesterday you didn't believe in him." Bogg replied.

"I know what I said yesterday, but…but…I saw him. He's real!"

At that moment, the sound of hooves and sleigh bells could be heard coming from outside.

"Shhhh! Listen!" Bogg whispered.

In the silence, Bogg and Jeff heard the sounds of hooves and sleigh bells intensifying.

"It's coming from outside. Come with me." Bogg commanded.

The two walked into the living room. Bogg pulled the curtains back a bit and peered outside. Much to his surprise, the jolly ol' man himself was climbing aboard his sleigh to continue his journey for the night.

Bogg turned and looked back at his partner. "You weren't kidding when you said you saw the jolly ol' man, he's right outside, look!"

Jeff walked over and stood in front of his partner. The two watched intently as Claus was preparing to leave.

"Bogg, that's not all. When he was inside, I saw his face in the moonlight." Jeff exclaimed.

"So, what did he look like?" Bogg asked.

"You won't believe it. But it was Chris!"

"Chris? You're not serious. Chris is in his room with Martha, fast asleep." Bogg replied.

"Are you sure?" Jeff asked.

"Kid, once he leaves, we'll take a look." Bogg said as he turned his attention to the sleigh outside. Suddenly, the jolly ol' man turned his head to one side and the light of the moon struck his face. Bogg gasped.

"What the… I don't believe my eyes! It's Chris!… He's Santa Claus?" Bogg whispered as he shook his head in disbelief. "I just don't believe it! I've known this man for as long as I've been a Voyager. Never in a million years would I have thought he had a side job."

"I told you Bogg. You know I would never lie to you. At least not on purpose." Jeff acknowledged.

"I know, kid. I'm sorry I doubted you, but… Chris…the jolly ol' man himself? I would have never believed it until I saw it with my own eyes."

As they continued to watch, Chris snapped the reins and the twelve tiny reindeer began to leap into the air. With his sleigh filled to the brim with bags of toys, he circled his home and then flew off into the distance.

"Kid, c'mon. I believe some investigating is in order. Let's check on the Kringle's." Bogg whispered.

The two Voyagers tiptoed down the hallway to the Kringle's bedroom. Bogg quietly cracked open the door and the two peered inside. Much to their surprise, the only person in the Kringle's bed was Martha. Bogg slowly closed the door and looked down at his partner.

"Well, kid, that proves it. Chris is not in his bed." Bogg said in amazement. "I still can't believe he's kept this from me for all these years. Santa Claus, the Voyager! Imagine that. Talk about a long-term assignment. That's one that would last a lifetime."

"Yea, I know." Jeff replied.

"Well, kid, now that we've had our shock for the night, I suggest we go back to bed." Bogg urged. "We'll talk more about this in the morning. Ok?"

"Yea Bogg. I'm still tired." Jeff said as he stretched his arms out and yawned.

Bogg put his arm around his partner. "You said it kid. Now c'mon."


	12. The Day We've Been Waiting For

_**VOYAGERS! **_**- The Voyager Chronicles  
****THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - BOOK 4  
****(Sequel to Crime of All Time)  
****By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
****December 2007 (Revised 06/2009)  
****Previous disclaimers apply**

**Chapter 11 – THE DAY WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR **

Early the following morning, Bogg and Jeff awakened from their slumber, sat up in bed and quietly discussed the events of the prior evening. Both were still in shock over what they had seen. Jeff was even more so, since now he had seen proof positive there was indeed a Santa Claus.

"So Bogg, what are we going to do now?" Jeff whispered.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing?" Jeff echoed.

"Yea, kid. Absolutely nothing."

"Why is that, Bogg?"

"Think about it, kid. Take a step back and look at the whole picture here. It's pretty much the same situation that you and I are in." Bogg explained. "We both have a secret identity. Both of us are Voyagers. When we are on assignment, we don't go around telling everyone we are Voyagers. We just go in, fix the problem and leave as quietly and discreetly as is possible. It's the same situation here. Chris has a secret identity. In fact he has two of them. He's a Voyager and he's also Santa Claus. He goes in, drops off his load of toys and then leaves."

"So we're just going to make like we didn't see anything?" Jeff asked.

"Yep. We didn't see a thing. I think it's better that we leave it that way. What do you suppose would happen if people found out we knew the true identity of Santa Claus, huh? Can you just imagine the predicament we would find ourselves in? Reporters and journalists would hound us constantly. No matter where we went, we'd have cameras and microphones stuck in our faces. They would be popping out from behind lunch counters, peering covertly through bushes, and sneaking up behind us when we least expect it."

"C'mon Bogg, it can't seriously be that bad?" Jeff teased.

"Bad! Kid you don't know bad until you've experienced it. How would you feel if you went into the men's room and had a reporter stick a microphone in your face while you were on the throne doing your business?"

Jeff laughed as he nodded his head in sheer disbelief.

"Ok, Bogg, now whose nose is gonna grow." Jeff chided. "You can't be serious. When did this ever happen to you? 'Fess up Bogg, I wanna know now."

"Kid, I'm serious!"

Bogg sat there for a moment, staring at this partner attempting to keep a straight face after his last comments. When he could no longer hold back the flood, he burst out laughing.

"I knew it! I knew it!" Jeff exclaimed. "You're just pulling my leg. That never really happened, did it?"

Bogg continued to laugh for several moments before pulling himself back together.

'No, kid. That never happened." He admitted. "I was just attempting to drive my point home with you. Of course nothing could top the look on your face after I mentioned that little tidbit."

"Bogg, you are just too much." Jeff teased. "You probably already know that."

Bogg reached over and put his hand on his partner's shoulder.

"I know, kid. But like I said earlier, we need to keep this little secret to ourselves. And if you dare say anything about it, I assure you, I WILL carry out the little prank I pulled on you yesterday morning without reservation." He threatened.

"Oh yea…the spanking? Believe me, I get the picture…quite clearly in fact. That's the last thing I ever want from you. I wouldn't be able to sit for weeks after you're through with me. Don't worry, I won't say a word." Jeff assured.

"Good! Now that we understand each other, let's go and get some breakfast."

The two Voyagers put on their shoes, straightened themselves and made their way into the kitchen. By this time, Chris was sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee as Martha stood by the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal. She looked up and noticed the two as they slowly crept through the door.

"Good morning, guys!"

"Good morning Martha. Good morning Chris."

"Did you sleep well, last night?" Martha asked.

"Why yes, we both slept like logs." Bogg assured. "How about you two?"

"I too slept like a log." Martha replied. "But as for Chris, that's a different story."

"How so?" Jeff asked as he smiled at Bogg. "Did you have a nightmare like mine?"

"Well, Jeff, no. I didn't have a nightmare, but I can tell you this, I was up all night long." Chris replied as he took another sip of coffee.

Jeff looked at Bogg, smiled again and winked.

"Why don't you two have a seat?" Martha urged. "Breakfast will be ready shortly."

"Great, I'm starved!" Jeff said as he walked over and sat down beside Chris.

"Kid, after that feast last night, I would have thought you wouldn't eat again for weeks." Bogg teased. "You know, like a bear hibernating through the winter."

"Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed. "Remember, I'm a growing boy."

Martha finished preparing breakfast and sat the hot dishes down on the table. Once all the food was on the table, she came over and sat down beside her guests.

"Ok, guys let's dig in!" Chris urged.

After eating a breakfast fit for a king, Bogg, Chris and Jeff retired to the living room as Martha cleared the dishes and tidied up. Once she finished she came into the living room and sat down on the carpet beside the Christmas tree.

"Well guys the time has come. It's Christmas and we all know what that means." Martha said with a large smile.

"Yea, presents!" Jeff exclaimed.

"You got it son. Right the first time!" Chris acknowledged.

Martha picked up the first gift, held it up and read the name tag.

"Mr. Bogg, I believe this one's for you." She said as she passed it to him.

Bogg took the gift and looked at the name tag.

"Who's it from?" Jeff asked.

"Kiddo, this is from Martha and Chris." Bogg replied as he glanced over at his guests. "You two really didn't have to do this."

"Phin, it was no trouble." Martha said humbly. "For all you've done for us, you deserve a little something."

Bogg tore through the wrapping paper and opened the lid. He reached in and pulled out a new hat, scarf and gloves, which he held up for all to see.

"How did you know? I can use these when I go on missions to places where it's cold. Thank you, I really do appreciate it." He said.

"You are quite welcome." Chris and Martha replied in unison.

Martha reached down and picked up yet another gift from underneath the tree. Holding it in front of her, she took a quick peek at the name tag.

"Mr. Jones, looks like we have one for you as well." She said as she passed the gift to the young Voyager. "I wonder how Santa found out you were staying with us for Christmas?"

Chris grinned a bit and responded. "That Santa is a smart cookie. You know, he has connections everywhere."

Bogg glanced at his partner, grinned and rolled his eyes.

Jeff walked over and took the gift from his host. He sat down on the floor and began to unwrap it. Once he lifted the lid, his eyes grew large when he noticed what was inside.

"Well, kid, what is it?" Bogg asked curiously.

"You're not going to believe this, but…" He said as he pulled the object from the box. "It's a Voyager guidebook."

"Wow, kid, a Voyager guidebook! Even I don't have a Voyager guidebook." Bogg said as he started to laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, I do have a guidebook, it's you! And believe me, I would never think of trading you for the paper copy."

"Thanks Bogg!" Jeff said with a smile.

Chris chimed in. "Jeff, that's no ordinary guidebook, that's my old guidebook. There's quite a few light-years on it, but it's still in pretty good shape. Having retired from field service some time ago, I don't need it any longer. And I figured since you are in training, it would be of more use to you than it would be sitting here on the shelf, gathering dust.

Jeff walked over and hugged Chris and Martha. "Thank you…thank you both, I love it. I can't wait to read it."

"Now Jeff, don't get carried away." Chris warned the young Voyager. "Remember, you're still in training. You still have a lot to learn before you can attempt some of what is in that book on your own. Ok?"

"I remember. I'll be careful. Believe me." Jeff replied.

Martha again looked underneath the tree. "Well, what do we have here?" She asked, emphasizing the note of surprise in her voice. "There are two more gifts under this tree."

She quickly reached over and slid one of the remaining two gifts over to her side. Pausing for a moment for effect, she looked at the name tag.

"Well, Phin, there's another one here for you." She said innocently as she passed it to him.

Bogg again looked at the name tag. It read "To: Bogg, From: Your son, Jeff." At that moment, a tear rolled down his cheek. He looked at Jeff, smiled and nodded his head.

"I'm gonna get you kid." Bogg threatened as he shook his finger at him. "I can't believe you bought me a present."

Jeff smiled as he watched his partner open his gift.

Once he had torn through the wrappings, he lifted the lid. Upon looking inside, he discovered a new coat, which perfectly matched the hat, gloves and scarf, the Kringles had given him earlier. Bogg pulled the coat from the box, stood up and put it on.

"Oh Jeff, this is great! I love it kid! You're the greatest! Get yourself over here and let me give you a big hug." Bogg said as he waived his arm.

Jeff stood up and walked over to his partner. Bogg bent down and put his arms around him. "Thank you kid. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Bogg." Jeff whispered in his ear.

"I hate to interrupt this poignant scene, but there's one more gift under this tree." Martha interjected. "Believe it or not, it's for you Jeff."

"For me?" He asked.

"Yes, Jeff, it's for you."

The young Voyager walked over and took the package from Martha and again sat down on the floor. He took a moment to read the name tag. Surprised by what he saw, it read "To Jeff, From your new dad, Bogg."

"It's from Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed.

Jeff tore through the paper voraciously, as the three adults looked on. Once he had removed the lid, he realized, much like his own gift to Bogg, his partner had a similar idea also. He reached in and pulled out a new coat.

Jeff stood up. "It's a new coat." He exclaimed.

He put on the coat and ran over to Bogg. "Thank you Bogg. You really shouldn't have done this."

"Kid, you need a new coat for when we make our next trip to Siberia." Bogg said with a smile.

"Yea right! Siberia! Funny Bogg, very funny!" Jeff replied.

Jeff put his arms around his partner and hugged him in appreciation. "Thank you!" He said. "I love you!"

After Jeff had let go of Bogg, Chris spoke up.

"Bogg, don't you think you need to spring the other surprise on him."

"Oh…yea…I almost forgot. Jeff, the coat is only one part of your gift. If you take a look in the right pocket, you'll find the other part." Bogg said with a smile.

Bogg stood there watching the young Voyager as he eased his hand into the pocket of his new coat. At this point he realized yet another golden opportunity to tease Jeff had boldly presented itself.

"Watch out for that big spider!" Bogg yelled as he tried to keep a straight face.

Jeff jerked his hand out of his pocket and started flailing his arms about.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! Spider! What spider? Bogg, get it off me, now!" He screamed.

Bogg and the Kringles were unable to control themselves as they burst into laughter.

"Calm down, Jeff! I'm just kidding." Bogg reassured. "There's no spider in your pocket, but there is a BIG surprise waiting for you there. Put your hand in and see for yourself."

Jeff looked to his partner for reassurance as he once again put his hand slowly into the pocket of his coat. Bogg nodded and winked back, giving him the signal that all was ok. Upon discovering the contents, a big smile came over his face as he looked at his partner.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Go on kid; pull it out so we can see it." Bogg encouraged.

"It feels like a…" Jeff said as he finally pulled the object from his pocket.

"It's an omni! Wow! Bogg! I've got an omni!" Jeff exclaimed as he leaped into the air with excitement.

"Yea, kid, it's time you had your own omni. And thanks to Chris here, you have it. It's his old training omni. And now it belongs to you."

"Bogg!!!! Thank you Bogg!!!! Oh, I can't believe this!!! Thank you Chris!!! I just can't believe this!" Jeff exclaimed with excitement.

"Just remember son, that guidebook and omni comes with responsibility. You must use them with care." Chris advised. "Phin here will help you learn to use them the proper way. We don't want you to get hurt."

Jeff turned and looked at Bogg. "Can I try it now?" He asked.

Bogg momentarily gave his partner a playful stern look and began to smile. "Yea sure, there's no time like the present."

"Ok guys, you better clear the room and take cover. The kid's got an omni!" Bogg teased.

"Bogg!"

Bogg kneeled in front of Jeff. "Ok, kid, you know the drill, open the lid and set the dial."

"Where to?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know kid, just pick a place." Bogg said softly.

Jeff stood there for a moment, his hands trembling at the thought of his first real omni. He twirled the dials on the omni and closed the lid.

"Ready, Bogg!" He asked.

Bogg put his hand on Jeff's arm. "I'm ready, kid. Do it!"

Jeff pressed the button and they vanished.

In the wink of an eye, they landed in the little town of Bethlehem. As they stood in the street attempting to get their bearings, three wise men walked past them.

"Where are we kid?" Bogg asked.

"Bethlehem." Jeff replied.

"Quick Bogg!" He exclaimed. "Follow those wisemen!"

The three wisemen, after passing the two Voyagers continued on their journey until they came to a small building which resembled a stable. Pausing for a moment at the entrance, they whispered amongst themselves, before they stepped inside. Bogg and Jeff, following closely in their footsteps, reached the entrance and cautiously went through the door. Once inside, there, in their midst of the three wisemen, Mary and Joseph was a newborn baby, lying in a manger. Bogg, looked at the scene and then again at his partner.

"That's Jesus, correct?"

"Yea, Bogg, it's the big guy himself."

"Kid, I've never been here before. " Bogg whispered. "What a wonderful event to experience, the birth of Jesus. Not many people have had the opportunity to witness this event first-hand. You did good, kid!"

"Thanks, Bogg."

"We better enjoy it while we can, because any moment now we'll be going back to the Kringle's home."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

"That omni will only allow you to stay in a time zone for a brief period before it brings you back to your starting point." Bogg explained.

"How long do we have?" Jeff asked.

"I'd say not more than a couple of minutes."

In that instant, the two vanished and as quickly as they left, they returned to the Kringle's living room.

"Well, we're back!" Jeff announced.

"Where did you two go?" Martha asked.

"To Bethlehem, to see the birth of Jesus." Jeff replied.

"How appropriate."

"Bogg, Chris, I'm truly grateful to have this omni, but if it will only allow me to stay in another time zone for a few minutes, what good is it to me?" Jeff asked.

"Well, kid, I'll tell you." Bogg said before being interrupted by Chris.

"Phin, are you sure you really want to tell him?" Chris asked.

"Yea, Chris, it's ok. I trust him, completely. On many occasions, he's taken my omni and went to other time zones without me. I know he has enough experience and maturity to do the right thing and to find his way back to me."

"Phin, any other time, I would feel quite uneasy allowing a trainee full access to an omni. In this case, based on what you have just told me, I feel Jeff has the maturity to handle such a responsibility."

"Bogg, I don't understand." Jeff said, being somewhat confused by Bogg and Chris's conversation. "What are you two talking about?"

Bogg walked over to the chair and sat down. He pulled his omni from his belt and motioned to his partner to join him at his side.

"Kid, come here and let me explain."

Jeff strolled over to his partner and sat down on the arm of the chair beside him.

"Ok, right now, that omni of yours is set to return you to your starting point five minutes after you leave. That is the default setting for a training omni. And there's a reason for that. Unlike yourself, most trainees do not have the necessary training and experience to be able to handle a fully working unrestricted omni. Or for that matter to go into a time zone and successfully complete a mission on their own. The five minute return option is used to allow the trainee to complete his class assignments while protecting him from harm. If the trainee gets into a bind, he doesn't need to worry about setting his omni to return to his starting point. The omni will automatically return him to his starting point after five minutes is up."

Jeff spoke up at this point. "But as you said, I've taken your omni to other time zones before and I've fixed the problems with history and returned it to you in one piece."

"Kid, you are telling me nothing that I don't already know." Bogg said as he squeezed Jeff's shoulder.

"I just want you to realize, though, possessing one of these devices carries with it a huge responsibility. It's more than what you are used to experiencing by borrowing my omni. You are responsible for keeping it on your person at all times. Losing and/or misplacing it is not an option. Due to the potential for misuse and abuse if it fell into the wrong hands, only Voyagers and Voyager trainees are allow to use these devices. Along those lines, you must make sure no one ever gains possession of it. Also, you need to realize, you are responsible for what you do with it as well as your actions with regard to changing history. By having an omni, you are now bound by the rules of the Voyager Code. And you must abide by these rules at all times. Nothing short of this will bring down the judgment of the Voyager tribunal upon you. You've been before the Voyager Tribunal before, so you know all too well what can happen there. At the very least they can impose sanctions on you, suspend your privileges as Voyager or for more serious infractions they have the option to banish you."

As Bogg continued to explain the huge responsibility his partner was taking onto his shoulders, he couldn't help but notice he had overwhelmed him with all the details. As Jeff sat there listening to the lecture, he sported a look of fear on his face. With this, he attempted to lighten the situation by injecting some humor into it.

"Kid please don't take what I'm saying the wrong way. It's not my intention to scare you by telling you all this. I just want you to know the all the facts. If I wanted to scare you, I could accomplish that by telling you we're going to Siberia. I just want you to know the responsibilities that come with that little shiny brass device."

Jeff smiled a bit and reassured his partner. "Bogg, I understand. I know it is your duty as my teacher to explain this to me. Let me assure you, I recognize the responsibilities which come with this omni. While I don't know each and every rule of the Voyager Code, I will learn them. The last thing I'd ever want to do is to break one of those rules and have you see me in front of the Voyager Tribunal."

"Kid, I know you will do your very best to abide by the rules. But I'm bound by the Voyager Code to instruct you in the proper use of an omni and the intricacies of the Voyager Code. If it's not done properly and you do something wrong, I could lose you as a partner. The powers that be could then reassign you to another Voyager."

"I won't let you down, Bogg." Jeff reassured.

"I have the ability to remove that restriction from your omni. You know, where you have complete control. But know this…your training omni is linked with mine. If I ever sense you are in danger, I can instantly transport you to my location with the flick of a switch."

"Ok, Bogg, I understand. Now can you lift this restriction?" He asked.

Bogg unclipped the omni from his belt and opened the lid. He took a moment to adjust the settings and looked to his partner.

"Ok, kid, open the lid on your omni and hold it up next to mine."

Jeff opened his omni and held it up beside his partner's. Bogg adjusted the century dial to the V position and pressed a button on his omni for 5 seconds. The red and green lights on Jeff's omni flashed a couple of times before going dark. After that, it beeped one time.

"Kid, looks like you are set." Bogg said. "Just remember, if you abuse the privilege, I can and will take it away from you."

"I won't Bogg, I promise. I won't. You can trust me." Jeff assured.

Bogg winked at his partner and smiled.

All of a sudden, Chris spoke up. "Bogg, Jeff, the fun's not over yet."

"What do you mean, Chris?" Bogg asked curiously.

"I have one more gift for the two of you. Well, it's more like a surprise." He teased.

"What is it?" Jeff asked.

"Well, this surprise is in Bogg's front coat pocket." Chris said as he put on a big smile.

Bogg slowly reached inside his coat.

Chris smiled mischievously as he watched his old friend reach into his pocket.

"Watch out for that big ol' snake!" Chris yelled out.

Bogg quickly jerked his hand back. "Whew! Snake? There better not be a snake in my pocket."

Chris, Martha and Jeff laughed as Bogg had now gotten his payback for the "spider" prank.

"I was just teasing, Bogg." Chris said with a smile. "Go ahead look in your pocket."

Bogg eased his hand into his pocket and moments later pulled out a small rolled up parchment tied with a ribbon.

"What's this?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Open it!" Chris urged.

Bogg nervously untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment. He began to read the writing on it and after a few moments, tears of joy rolled down his cheeks.

Jeff looked at his partner.

"Bogg, what is it. Why are you crying?"

"Go ahead Phin, tell him!" Chris said excitedly.

Bogg held the parchment in front of his partner and put his arm around him.

"Kid, this…this…is the document." He said as he stumbled on his words.

"What document? Tell me Bogg, what's it all about?" Jeff exclaimed.

"It's the document which finalizes your adoption." Bogg said joyously. "You are now officially and legally my son! For now and forever."

Jeff reached over and hugged Bogg as he too began to cry tears of joy.

During this poignant moment, Martha walked over and put her arms around her husband. The two stood and watched as Bogg and Jeff held each other in their arms.

"I love you honey." Martha said with a loving tone. "Only you could have pulled off something like this without a hitch."

Chris looked over and kissed his wife on the cheek. "I know. I love you too. It was touch and go there for a moment, but the pieces all fell into place. I'm glad we both had a part in it."

"You know, being a part of something as beautiful as this, it gives you a sort of warm, fuzzy feeling inside." Martha said lovingly.

"Yes honey, it does. There's nothing in this world like the true spirit of Christmas."

---- THE END ----


End file.
